


The Holler

by YKWencest



Category: Tegan and Sara (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-06 06:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 64,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6743866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YKWencest/pseuds/YKWencest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tegan and Sara go through daily life in the mountains, secluded from the world below their home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Open For Discussion

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my new story. This is the first multichapter story I've written (truly, not like Aunt Mama which is really just oneshots put together). Also...
> 
> This story was inspired by quincestreet's story, The Trash Man, in which Sara mentions their grandparents being from the mountains.

Rise with or before the sun. That was the motto of a farmer. Maybe it wasn’t uttered, but it was understood nonetheless. Rise with or before the sun and set when it did.

That motto was crap.

Tegan Quin hated that motto. She hated having to get up so early and go to bed and settle for whatever sleep she got before then. But she had to do it. She was the provider of sorts, for herself and her twin sister, Sara. Tegan took care of the more manual labor around the house: fixing things that were broken, gathering wood when needed, and most importantly, farm work. Sara on the other hand, took care of what was considered the lighter load: washing things that were dirty, sewing up things that had holes, and preparing meals for the day. There were other things for each sister to take care of, but those were the big things.

Their life was simple, isolated from most of the world by the rise of the mountains in which they lived. Scarce trips were made down to the town below, and so the people of the mountains maintained their own world.

That isolation came with a consequence, however. Without much interaction with people outside of the mountain community, only so much “mixing” could be done. It was a fact of life, that people of mountains were “closer” in family than most others in the so called real world.

Tegan stood up from her crops, wiping the sweat from her brow and stretching her back. She scanned the rows of plants in front of her, noting which ones would possibly be ready to harvest soon and which ones needed more time. She decided that that would be it for the day. She just wanted to go back inside to Sara. She hadn’t gotten to spend much time with Sara at all since she woke up that day. She shook her head, looking to the chicken coop off to the side of the crops. Sara would come out later and check on the chickens. When they had moved into their house together, Sara had asked for chickens. She said she would take care of them, and Tegan obliged her.

Tegan wiped her head once more before she unbuttoned the light blue flannel shirt she was wearing and walked back into the house through the back door and into the kitchen.

“It’s fucking hot out today,” she said as she removed her over shirt and threw it over the chair beside the table. “I’m sweating my ass off.”

“Well, don’t wear flannel when it’s hot out, silly,” Sara laughed, turning around from the stove in front of her.

“Yeah, but if I just go out there with my tank top, then I’ll get a farmer’s tan,” Tegan replied.

“You’d look hot with a farmer’s tan,” Sara chuckled, moving the hair out of her eyes with her hand. “Besides, you **are** a farmer.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tegan smiled, walking over to Sara and wrapping her arms around the other girl’s waist. “What’re you making?”

“Well, mama stopped by while you were outside and dropped off some minute steaks for us, so I’m making them and some mashed potatoes and green beans for supper,” Sara replied, placing a quick kiss on Tegan’s lips before returning to her food.

“Mama was here and you couldn’t come get me?” Tegan asked, a little upset at the fact the she had missed their mother. It wasn’t that they didn’t see their mother often, it was quite the contrary.

“She just popped in and handed me the steaks,” Sara replied, flipping said meats over. “She said she had to go home and help mam with some stuff around the house.”

Mam was the girls’ other mother. In the mountain hollow (or holler as it was pronounced by the people of the mountains) where Tegan and Sara lived, the population was all women. That wasn’t to say that the population could sustain itself on women alone, biology required both sexes for reproduction just as it did elsewhere. But their hollow was different.

In their hollow, all women entered into relationships with other women, however, there was another hollow separated by a small patch of trees between the two, where others lived. It was unknown why or how there had a been a split off, but it had come to be an accepted part of life. There was the hollow where most people lived, men and women alike; and there was their hollow, full of only women. Their hollow was much smaller than the one across the trees, but it was home.

“So what, I just missed out on seeing them today?” Tegan asked.

“Mama said they’d be back for supper, Tegan; I asked her,” Sara replied, looking to her twin. “Go jump in the shower before these get done.”

“Ooh, someone’s bossy,” Tegan chuckled, picking up her discarded shirt and walking toward the stairs that led to the upper floor of the house, and in turn, the bathroom. “That’s so hot.”

“Shut up,” Sara laughed in response.

*

Tegan descended the stairs with a towel in her hand, ruffling her brown hair in an attempt to dry it faster. She could smell the meal that Sara was just starting when she walked in earlier. Now the scent of potatoes and green beans had joined the scent of the meat. It smelled like heaven.

“Took you long enough,” Sara commented as Tegan walked into the kitchen. “What were you doing up there?”

“Enjoying my shower,” Tegan replied, tossing the towel onto the counter beside her.

“Tegan,” Sara huffed, picking up the towel and taking it to the laundry room before walking back into the kitchen. “You’re such a pig.”

“Admit it, you just like cleaning up after me,” Tegan smiled. She looked around the room, noting that it was just herself and Sara still. “Where’s mom and mam?”

“They’re on the way,” Sara answered, setting the table. There was a quick knock on the front door shortly before the two women stepped inside. “See, speak of the devil.”

“Sara, don’t go calling your mama a devil like that,” their mam, Tammy, joked as she shut the door behind herself and her wife, Sonia. Sonia was the twins’ biological mother, she had carried them. Their father, Stephen, was Tammy’s brother.

“I’m pretty sure she was talking about you, Tam,” Sonia replied, slapping Tammy’s arm.

The four women sat down at the table together, Tegan sitting nearer to Sara than she would’ve if they were alone. They each began to fix their plates before they began talking.

“So, Tegan, how was your day?” Sonia asked with green beans resting on the end of her fork.

“Hard. Hot,” Tegan replied. “I busted my ass outside like always.”

“She made it worse on herself by wearing that damned flannel,” Sara added.

“Tegan Rain, I swear,” Sonia sighed. “You get your thick head from your mam.”

“Nuh-uh, she gets that flannel crap from her dad,” Tammy countered. “You saw me today, I was practically shirtless out there.”

“Ew, gross,” Tegan commented.

“It wasn’t gross, Tegan,” Sonia smiled. “Trust me.”

Both girls grimaced at that, eliciting laughs from both of their mothers.

“I invite you two to supper that I slaved over all day and this is how you repay me?” Sara joked.

“All day? Girl, I brought you these steaks half an hour ago,” Sonia countered.

“Now, Sonia. I’m sure Sara was busy with other things all day,” Tammy laughed.

“What are you getting at, mam?” Sara asked, taking a bite of her food.

“Well, you and Tegan have been living on your own for a few years now,” Tammy began. “I’m sure you’ve had a conversation or two.”

“Well, first off, yes, Tegan and I have talked about having children before. Secondly, we’re both women. We can’t get them by doing what you implied.”

“That doesn’t mean we haven’t done that, either, though,” Tegan added. Now it was their mothers’ turn to grimace. Tegan shot a smirk to Sara as their mothers both pretended to be interested in their food.

*

“You got everything put up, babe?” Tegan asked as she walked back inside from seeing their mom and mam off.

“Yeah,” Sara replied, sitting down on the couch. Tegan walked over, joining her sister on the cushions. They snuggled into each other, something they always did when they sat by one another. They sat silently for a moment before Sara spoke up again. “I’ve been thinking about what mam said.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sara replied, nodding. “I know we’ve never come to a decision on whether we would like to or not, but…”

“But what, Sasa?” Tegan asked, moving back some to look at her twin.

“Well, like…” Sara began, looking for the right words. Their mothers had never urged them to have children. Sure they joked here and there, but all parents did that, right? Their mam wasn’t serious in her jest that the girls had been spending all day “having a conversation”. “D-Do you think we should?”

“Have kids?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. “I think… I think mam was trying to drop a hint earlier.”

“Mam was just joking, Sara,” Tegan replied softly. “It’s just something parents do with their kids when they get old enough to have kids of their own. She knows that if we want to, we will.”

“Yeah, but, she and mom had us when they were younger than we are now,” Sara countered.

“Sasa, we’re twenty-four,” Tegan chuckled softly. She moved back into her previous position, bringing Sara into her side and snuggling her. “If you want to talk about us having kids because it’s something you want to talk about, then we’ll discuss it. But if you just want to talk about it because of a joke that mam made, then no.”

“Tegan, I love you very much,” Sara began. “And when you love someone the way that I love you, you talk about having kids.”

“Then we’ll talk about it.”

They were quiet again after that, not quite ready to head up the stairs to their room just yet. Kids. Children. They were going to open it up for discussion again. Sara wondered if maybe she had pushed Tegan into it, or if Tegan wanted to talk about it again herself. Mam was joking. She knew that. She knew her mam wouldn’t try to force them to have children of their own. But Sara couldn’t deny that the joke opened up the idea again. It had been a little over a year since she and Tegan had last discussed it. The decision was quick. “We’re just not ready yet.” They both agreed on it. It was right then. But would it still be right now?

“Do you have to get up early tomorrow?” Sara asked, breaking the silence.

“I have to take some of the last harvest down to the market around noon, yeah,” Tegan replied. She hated the town below them. The people there hated them, and so she in turn hated those people. The only reason she cared to venture down the mountain at all was for essentials. She would be going down there to try and sell her crops at the farmers’ market. They needed the money. Everyone did. They were lucky that they could grow crops and raise livestock in their holler, but money was still essential.

“Maybe I can go with you and sell some eggs,” Sara suggested. “Did my babies have any today?”

“I don’t know, that’s your job,” Tegan joked.

“I’ll check in the morning,” Sara said, ignoring her twin’s joke. She stood up from her spot on the couch, holding her hand out to Tegan. “Ready for bed?”

“Since I woke up this morning,” Tegan replied, taking Sara’s hand and following her upstairs to their room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of The Holler. I really like this story. Let me know what you guys think. I'd love to hear how everyone feels about this world.
> 
> Again, thank you to quincestreet for the inspiration and encouragement to write this and all of my other stories. It means a lot to me. <3


	2. Farmers' Market

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for the second chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Please let me know what you think.

Rise with or before the sun. Oh how Tegan longed for a day off again. She would get one in due time, but for now, it was time to win her baby’s bread.

Sara. She did it all for Sara. If she ever found herself having a hard time getting out of bed, she would think to herself, _It keeps Sara fed_ , and she would get up.

Today was one of those days. One of those days when she wished more than anything that she could stay in her nice warm bed, with Sara’s nice warm (nude) body beside her. She woke up at her usual time, a few minutes before the sun would peak over the horizon, and stayed where she was. If it was a day off, she would fall back to sleep in no time. But since it was market day, she threw her feet over the side of the bed and stood up.

Her nipples hardened at the breeze of the fan in front of them. She chuckled to herself as she searched for her clothes. One thing she loved about living alone with Sara was actually getting to take advantage of alone time. She picked up a pair of boxers from the floor and slipped them on.

_Maybe I should shower before I go to town later_ , she thought. It would be for the best. She would be dealing with townies. Townies already hated her, so she might as well not give them more reason to hate her. She picked up her bra from the night before and clasped it behind her back before walking over to Sara’s side of the bed. Tegan bent down slowly, quietly, and kissed Sara’s sleeping lips. It was something she did every morning, a ritual of sorts for her. She didn’t know if Sara was aware of it or not. “Sleep tight, Sasa. Sweet dreams, baby.”

*

Tegan remembered the first time she and Sara went to the town below. They were young, seven. Their mother, Sonia, sat in the back of their car with her and Sara and spoke to them.

“Girls, you have to promise mama something, okay?” she asked.

“What is it, mama?” Tegan asked, curiously.

“When we get out in town, you two can’t call mam, mam,” Sonia replied softly. “Do you understand me?”

“Why can’t we call her mam?” Sara asked.

“Down in this town, here, they don’t have mams,” their mother began. “Everyone down there has a mommy and a daddy, and that’s it.”

“Like Robbie?” Sara asked. Rob was their cousin from the hollow past the trees, where their father, Stephen lived as well. Sara liked Rob. He was fun to play with whenever they visited.

“Yes, baby, like your cousin Robbie,” Sonia nodded sadly.

“Why are you sad, mama?” Tegan spoke up. “Do you miss Robbie?”

“Yeah, Tee,” Sonia replied, sniffling and giggling. “Maybe we can go see him and daddy and everyone else sometime.”

“What are we supposed to call you, mam?” Sara asked, leaning forward in her seat to talk to her mam.

“Sit back, Sara,” Tammy warned. She waited for Sara to sit back in her seat before she continued. “You can call me auntie, aunt Tammy, Tammy, or something like that.”

“But you’re not our aunt,” Sara replied. “You’re our mam.”

“It’s just for pretend, sweetie,” Tammy replied, wiping at her eyes with one hand still on the wheel. “I’ll be your mam when we get back home.”

“Do you miss Robbie, too, mam?” Tegan asked, noticing her mam had taken on the same sad disposition as her mom had.

“Yeah, sweetie, I miss Robbie, too,” Tammy replied, shaking her head in amusement. “And I miss your daddy, too.”

“Mam?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Are you gonna make mama feel better when we get out?”

There was a near silence that settled inside the car. The only sounds that could be heard were the rocks being kicked up by the car as it made it’s way down the uneven path.

“No, sweetie,” Tammy replied, sighing to steady herself. “Mammy can’t.”

*

Tegan picked up another potato chip from her plate, motioning toward Sara before she popped it in her mouth. She had just gotten out of the shower and made herself a sandwich for lunch before she prepared to make the trip down the mountain to the farmers’ market. Sara had just come in from outside as Tegan sat down.

“Did your ‘babies’ have any eggs for you?”

“Yeah,” Sara replied, looking through a cabinet for an empty carton. “Got a half a dozen in there. Might as well refrigerate them and see if more will turn up or not.”

“What are you gonna do about selling?” Tegan asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Well, we have a few dozen carts still in the other fridge,” Sara replied. “I think those are still good, so I can sell them.”

“Did you take you a shower earlier?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Sare nodded, grabbing her mug from a cabinet and pouring herself a cup of coffee from a pot she had made earlier that day. “I know to be clean around townies.”

“I’m gonna want to kiss you so bad down there,” Tegan said before finishing off her food.

“I know,” Sara whispered.

“I hate it.”

“I know.”

*

“Why isn’t anyone buying our food, mama?” Tegan asked as the hot sun beat down upon her and her family. It had been close to an hour since they had arrived at the market for Tegan and Sara’s mothers to sell their goods to the people of the town. Only one person had come by, and they looked at the women with contempt before walking on.

“I guess they just haven’t seen anything they want, sweetie,” Sonia replied, looking out at the rest of the farmers’ market. That wasn’t true. She knew it wasn’t. The people weren’t coming because of who they were.

“Why not? You and mam make good stuff,” Tegan replied, smiling to her mothers. “Aunt Tammy. I mean aunt Tammy.”

“That’s okay, Tee,” Tammy replied, ruffling Tegan’s hair. “No one was around. They didn’t hear you.”

“Do the people here not like us?” Sara asked, looking up to her mothers.

“What makes you think that, Sara?” Sonia asked, crouching down to be face to face with her daughter.

“I’m not dumb, mama,” Sara whispered, pointing out to the crowd of people. “Those people look over here all mad like, and they won’t talk to us. Why don’t they like us?”

“Well, Sara, sweetie…” Sonia began, stroking her daughter’s hair. “There are just some people in the world that hate others because of stuff that makes no sense. We just happen to be some of those people that get hated.”

“Why, though?” Sara asked. “Even if their reason doesn’t make sense, they still have one.”

“They hate us because we’re mountain people,” Tammy spoke up, joining her wife in a crouch. “And we’re not like them. We don’t have much contact with people outside of our two hollers, so we’re all more related than these people here…”

“Tam,” Sonia spoke.

“No, Sonia, they need to hear this. They need to know,” Tammy countered. She reached an arm out to Tegan, pulling the girl closer to her twin so she could see both. “Your mama and I are cousins, you two know that, you always have. But these people down here, they don’t do that. To them, it’s wrong and gross. So when these people see us, they know that we’re ‘wrong and gross’ even though we haven’t done anything wrong to them.”

“Why are you telling us this, mam?” Tegan asked softly.

“I’m telling you because I love you,” Tammy said. She looked between the two girls in front of her for a moment before sighing. “And because no matter how strong your mama and I are, there are some things even we can’t protect you from.”

“Mammy?” Tegan asked.

“Yes, Tegan?”

“I’ll protect you and mama and Sara.”  
  
“Aw, baby,” Tammy smiled, pulling her twins into a hug. “Mammy loves you.”

*

Tegan huffed as she watched the people walk by, just as they had when she and Sara were young. It was a bit different now, more people stopped by than they had in the past, but there were still prejudices against them.

“It’s okay, baby,” Sara whispered. “Someone will come. They always do eventually.”

“I hate this part,” Tegan replied. “People look at us and all they see are mountain freaks. I hate it.”

“Well, we can’t help what they see based on prejudices that they’ve been taught, Tee,” Sara offered. “But we stand here, we smile, we do good business, and we keep a friendly disposition. That way, maybe, just maybe, they’ll change that.”

“Sara?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Sara replied, smiling.

They spent a few more minutes alone, watching the other farmers do business. Birds chirped, the sun shone, people walked and talked. Eventually, a little girl walked up to their table.

“Hi,” the girl, possibly no older than the twins were when they first ventured to the town, said.

“Hey, there,” Sara smiled, moving from her spot behind the table to crouch down in front of the child. “What’s your name?”

“Alyssa,” the girl answered with a smile of her own.

“Oh, that’s a pretty name,” Sara replied.

“Very pretty name,” Tegan agreed.

“What would you like, Alyssa?” Sara asked the little girl.

“Are you from the mountains?” the girl replied, ignoring Sara’s question.

“Y-Yes,” Sara nodded, confused. “W-Who um… Who told you that?”

“My granny,” Alyssa said before leaning forward and cupping her hands around her mouth to whisper. “She says mountain people are nasty, but I think you’re both pretty.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of you,” Sara smiled, despite the original information. “Would you like some fruits or vegetables from us?”

“My mommy has the money,” the girl answered. “But I can tell her I want stuff.”

“Well, that works for us, right Tegan?” Sara said, turning to her twin.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Tegan nodded. “What would you like?”

“Umm…” the girl hummed, looking at the crops in the baskets in front of her. “I like cucumbers and watermelons, and tomatoes.”

“Those are all good,” Tegan smiled. “Would your mommy like those, too?”

“Yes,” Alyssa answered. “My mommy loves salad.”

“Watermelons don’t go in salad,” Sara chuckled.

“My mommy likes watermelon, too,” the girl said.

“Well, Alyssa, I’ll tell you what,” Sara replied. “You go get your mommy and tell her we have stuff for her, and we’ll give you all the cucumbers and watermelons and tomatoes you want, okay?”

“Okay,” the girl smiled before running off to find her mother.

Sara stood back up and moved to her spot behind the table with Tegan. “See, Tee? People can be nice to us,” she said.

“She was cute,” Tegan replied, staring off where the girl had disappeared in the crowd. “You were really good with her.”

“I was just being natural,” Sara shrugged.

“It was cute,” Tegan said, looking to her twin. “watching you talk to that girl. You’d make a good mama.”

“I guess that’s a pro for having kids,” Sara blushed.

The two sat for a few minutes before a couple walked up to them. The man looked down at the baskets on the table, running his hand over his chin while the woman looked at the cooler where Sara had kept her eggs.

“Can we help you?” Tegan asked, smiling to the couple.

“What’s in this cooler?” the woman asked.

“Eggs,” Sara replied. “Don’t want them to go bad after they were refrigerated.”

“Can I see some?” the woman asked, flipping her hair out of her face as a small breeze came through.

“Sure thing,” Sara smiled, opening the cooler and pulling out a carton of eggs. She handed it over to the woman who opened the carton and inspected the eggs.

“Oh, they’re brown,” the woman noted, surprised.

“Yes ma’am,” Sara nodded. “We have Plymouth Rock chickens at our farm.”

“Those lay brown eggs?”

“Yes ma’am,” Sara replied.

“You have zucchini here?” the man asked Tegan, finally speaking up.

“Oh, yes sir,” Tegan smiled, pointing to one of the baskets on the table. “Right there for you.”

“Oh, hell, I’ve never seen them this big before,” the man smiled.

“Yeah, they get pretty big where we’re from,” Tegan nodded. “You a zucchini man?”

“Don’t even get him started,” the woman joked, handing money over to Sara for a carton of eggs.

“She says I’m more zucchini than man sometimes,” the man laughed.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Tegan smiled, pointing over to Sara with her thumb, “She’s always saying stuff like that about me.”

“You like zucchini?” the man asked.

“I love all my crops,” Tegan replied. “I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty good at growing things.”

“Hey, that’s all I need to hear,” the man smiled. He reached into his back pocket to fish out his wallet. “How much for a pound?”

“A dollar fifty,” Tegan replied.

“Okay,” the man said, pulling a five out of his wallet. “I’ll take three.”

“Okay, three pounds of zucchini,” Tegan noted, taking the man’s money and picking up two quarters. “Fifty cents is your change.”

“Keep it,” the man replied, grabbing his purchase and walking on with the woman. “You two have a nice day.”

“I think his lady might be right about him being more zucchini than man,” Sara chuckled.

“Hey, money is money,” Tegan joked.

*

“You about ready to head on home?” Tegan asked after a few more hours. The market was starting to clear up, people had found what they were looking for. It had been a while since the last people had come and bought stuff from them.

“Yeah,” Sara replied, stretching her arms above her head. “I don’t think anyone else is–”

A tomato whizzed by Sara’s head, smacking into the wall behind them. “Freaks!” a teenage boy shouted as his friends stood around him and laughed. “Go back to your mountain you inbred hillbillies!”

“That little fucker,” Tegan mumbled. “I ought to kick his ass.”

“Don’t worry about them, Tegan,” Sara sighed, picking up some of their goods. “It won’t do you any good anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tegan grumbled, helping Sara gather their things. They took turns taking things back to their car, leaving one at the table to watch over everything. Sara buckled herself in as Tegan put the last of the crops back in the car. They had made a fair amount of money on this venture, and Tegan was happy about that. The only thing that brought down their day was the kid at the end. Other than his outburst, the only thing that had happened was people walking by and muttering insults under their breath.

“I’m so tired, Teetee,” Sara said as Tegan started the car. “I get tired just standing around like that all day.”

“I know,” Tegan replied, carefully maneuvering the car. “And then we have to make the long ass trip back up to the holler.”

“Can we hold hands?” Sara asked softly.

“When we get out of town, yeah,” Tegan said, smiling sweetly. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Sara replied.

“I’m sorry that dick almost hit you with a tomato.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sara waved off. “It’s just a con for the list.”

“What do you mean?” Tegan asked.

“If we have a kid, they’ll have to face shit like that,” Sara answered. “Being called a freak and stuff.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Tegan said, reaching over to grab Sara’s hand as they left the town behind. “Either way, we’ll have each other.”

“Yeah we will.”


	3. Cousin Robbie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far. If there's any questions, or any thing you want to say, feel free to let me know. I appreciate the interest in the story.

Another day, another dollar. That was something the “working man” said. But Tegan never adopted such a philosophy. Days and dollars were not interchangeable for her, or anyone in the hollows.

Two hollows. Tegan often thought about the other hollow, the one where her father and cousins lived. She and Sara used to visit there frequently when they were kids. They loved spending time with their dad, and getting to play with their cousins.

“Tegan, baby,” Sara called out from the back door. “We’re out of milk. You’re gonna have to get some more.”

“What?” Tegan called back.

“I said–”

“Come here, I can’t hear you,” Tegan interrupted.

Sara huffed, walking outside and letting the screen door slam behind her. She trudged out to the field where Tegan was standing, shaking her head and mumbling to herself.

“I said–” Tegan leaned forward quickly, capturing Sara’s lips before she could finish her sentence.

“I heard what you said. I just wanted a kiss,” Tegan smiled, pulling away from her twin.

“You bitch,” Sara laughed.

“We really need milk?” Tegan asked.

“Yes.”

“We really need it?”

“Yes, we really need it.”

“I don’t wanna go milk the cow,” Tegan whined. “She always stares at me after I’m done.”

“Well, we need milk,” Sara replied. “So you gotta do it.”

“But I hate milking the cow. I always have,” Tegan moaned. “Why can’t you do it?”

“Because I don’t milk the cow,” Sara said. “I take care of the chickens.”

“That’s so unfair,” Tegan replied. “I take care of all these crops. Why do I have to milk the cow, too?”

“Tegan, it’s always the same with you,” Sara said, rolling her eyes. “I get that you’re tired, baby, I really do. But we’ve gotta put in the work right now. Things will slow down soon.”

“Come with me,” Tegan said, pouting to her twin.

“Well how can I say no to a face like that?” Sara smiled, kissing Tegan’s cheek. “I’ll keep you company.”

*

Tegan descended the stairs, buttoning up a clean shirt after her shower. The day was done, and the sun was still up for a bit. That was good. It wouldn’t feel like all of the day had flown by her if the sun was still with them.

“Mama called,” Sara spoke up from the couch and lowering the book she had been reading. “She said her and mam were gonna head over to Big Holler and wanted to know if we wanted to go with them.”

Big Holler was the name that the women had given to the holler across the trees, where Tegan and Sara’s father and other relatives lived. It was called such for obvious reason, it was bigger. The people of Big Holler referred to the women’s hollow as “Little Holler” in return.

“Yeah, sure,” Tegan replied, smiling. “When are they going?”

“Well, they’re probably ready to go right now,” Sara said.

“Okay,” Tegan said, finding her shoes and slipping them on. “Were they gonna walk, or drive?”

“They were gonna drive,” Sara answered. “Mam doesn’t feel like walking.”

“Okay. Should we head over to their place and meet up with them, or what are we doing?” Tegan asked.

“We can head over there, yeah,” Sara replied, standing up from her seat. “Lock the door behind you.”

*

“Oh, daddy, I missed you so much!” Sara said excitedly as she hugged her father. Their family had arrived at their father’s house a few minutes ago. The twins were excited to see their father, as it had been a while since they had done so.

“I missed you too, baby,” Stephen laughed, hugging his youngest daughter back.

“What about me?” Tegan spoke up playfully.

“Of course, Tee, I miss you like I do Sara,” Stephen replied, pulling his other daughter into the hug as well.

“I missed you, too, daddy,” Tegan giggled.

“Is Robbie around?” Sara asked after their father let them go.

“He’s around, yeah,” Stephen chuckled, ruffling his youngest daughter‘s hair. “Best place to find him would be his place, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sara giggled, flipping her hair out of her face. “Will you be okay with us going to see him?”

“Shoot, girl,” Stephen replied, running his hand through his long hair. “You don’t have to ask for permission. You know that.”

“I just feel so bad about leaving you so quickly when we haven’t been over in almost a month, daddy,” Sara said softly.

“It’s okay with me, Sare,” the man nodded. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Mom, mam?”

“Go on, baby,” Sonia said. “We’re just gonna be talking old people stuff anyway.”

“You guys aren’t old, mama,” Sara smiled, taking Tegan’s hand and walking toward the door. “But thank you, though.”

*

“Hey, my two favorite cousins!” Rob said excitedly as he opened the door for the twins. He wrapped them both into a hug quickly before letting them inside. “What brings you girls over here?”

“We came over with mam and mama to visit,” Sara replied, sitting down on the middle cushion of the couch. Tegan joined her, sitting beside the armrest to Sara’s left.. “They’re over at daddy’s place right now.”

“And you two didn’t wanna stay over there?” Rob asked, taking the open spot to Sara’s right. Tegan instinctively reached her arm out and brought Sara a fraction of an inch closer to her side.

“Well, I did,” Sara replied. “But he said it was okay to come see you.”

“Well, I’m flattered that you two wanted to come see me,” Rob smiled. “Do either of you need anything?”

“I’m fine, Robbie, thanks,” Sara said, smiling back.

“I’m good,” Tegan answered. She slipped back into silence as Rob and Sara seemed to forget that she was in the room as well. The only thing that told her that wasn’t true was the occasional caressing of Sara’s fingers on her knee.

Tegan wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like Rob was more interested in talking to Sara than he was in talking to her. Had it always been that way? Had Rob always been more interested in spending time with Sara? She didn’t think so. She remembered the both of them playing with Rob and their other cousins a lot whenever they would visit. Even the last time they were here, Rob talked to both equally. Maybe it was her. Maybe Tegan was just too tired from work. It didn’t make the most sense, but it also felt better than to think that Rob could be ignoring her for no reason.

“And then he was all like, ‘Dammit, Rob, I told you I was gonna have company tonight!’” Rob laughed, finishing off some story he was telling Sara about their other cousin, Ted, whom he lived with.

“Is he over at her house right now?” Sara asked, noting that Ted had yet to show up.

“Yeah,” Rob replied, nodding. “They’ve been getting pretty serious, those two.”

“That’s good for him,” Sara smiled. “I always thought Ted deserved a good girl. Don’t you think so, Tee?”

“Hmm? Yeah. I’m happy for him,” Tegan said, faking her way through an answer.

“Tegan, you’re so quiet over there,” Rob noted, smiling to her as well. “I swear we’re not even sitting on the same couch.”

 _Because you two aren’t addressing me_ , she thought. “I guess I’m a little more tired than I thought,” Tegan said, smiling weakly.

“You wanna lay down?” Rob asked. “Me and Sara can move to the kitchen if you want.”

“No, I’m fine,” Tegan answered. She moved her arm to rest around Sara’s shoulders. She wasn’t sure why, but the prospect of Sara being alone with Rob now made her feel protective.

“Okay,” Rob said, averting his eyes before launching into another conversation with Sara.

*

“You two don’t be strangers, you hear?” Rob joked as he followed the girls down the steps in front of the house to see them off. Tegan wrapped her arm around Sara again as Rob attempted to hug her with both arms.

“We won’t,” Sara said awkwardly as Rob backed off a bit.

“We’ll see you around, Rob,” Tegan offered, leading her sister away from the house. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” Rob called after them before going back inside.

“Robbie’s kind of cute,” Sara noted as the twins walked slowly back to their father’s house. “Not in a heterosexual way, but in a ‘he’d give us a cute baby’ way.”

“What, is that another pro to having a baby?” Tegan laughed, having lost all of her previous feelings now that she was the only one with Sara.

“Yes,” Sara smiled. “Cute babies are always pros.”

“How sure are you that he’d be up to it?” Tegan asked.

“I don’t know,” Sara shrugged, leaning her head on Tegan’s shoulder. “He’s Robbie, you know?”

“I guess, yeah,” Tegan said quietly.

“What’s the matter, Teetee?” Sara asked, pulling away. She knew immediately that there was something bothering her twin with the way she had suddenly quieted down.

“Do you really want to have a baby with him?” Tegan asked, a worried look on her face.

“Aw, Teetee,” Sara said, pulling Tegan into a tight, loving hug. “Are you jealous of Robbie?”

“I’m not jealous,” Tegan answered.

“Is that why you were so quiet earlier?”

“I was quiet because no one was talking to me,” Tegan replied. “You and Rob were in your own little world.”

“I’m sorry, Tegan, I really am,” Sara said, kissing Tegan’s lips. “I didn’t mean to ignore you like that.”

“It’s okay,” Tegan said softly. “It was silly.”

“No, you’re not silly, baby,” Sara whispered. “I would feel the same way if I were in your position.”

“Can we cuddle when we get home?” Tegan asked, her voice high and cute.

“We can cuddle whenever you want, Teetee,” Sara giggled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sasa.”


	4. Down Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, here's chapter four of The Holler. Sorry for taking so long on it. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Let me know if you have any questions or anything.
> 
> Spoilers for the books Where The Red Fern Grows, and Into The Wild appear in this chapter.

Tegan smiled contentedly as she sat down on the couch in a big show. Sara looked over to her twin and giggled at her, shaking her head in amusement. It had been a few weeks, and now things around the farm were starting to slow down, just as Tegan had wanted. Now she could relax. Now she could do whatever for the most part. She looked over to Sara, watching as the younger woman focused back on her book. Sara was always reading during her down time. Tegan loved watching her when she did. Sara’s tongue would poke out whenever she got to a particularly juicy part, or she would worry her thumb between her teeth when the plot grew thicker. Perhaps what Tegan loved the most about watching Sara read was that it made her twin look so vulnerable. This was Sara in her comfort zone. She wasn’t cleaning, she wasn’t cooking, she wasn’t tending to her chickens… This was Sara. Sure she was always Sara, but in a more spiritual sense, this was her.

“You’re watching me again,” Sara spoke up, biting her lip.

“Can you blame me?” Tegan asked. Her heart swelled with love. She may have loved being a farmer and knowing that she would always put in a hard day’s work and be rewarded, but her favorite thing in life was knowing that Sara was hers and she was Sara’s. She couldn’t ask for more.

“It’s hard to focus on the words in front of me when I know you’re staring like that,” Sara replied, shifting her eyes up from the page briefly.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Never,” Sara smiled.

Tegan chuckled before stretching her arms high above her head. “So… What are you reading over there?”

“The title is on the cover, Tee,” Sara laughed. “Read it yourself.”

“No, you tell me,” Tegan said, whining playfully.

“I’m reading The Hotel New Hampshire,” Sara answered, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, that?” Tegan asked, confused. “I thought you already read that one.”

“No, that was Where The Red Fern Grows and Into The Wild,” Sara replied, shaking her head. She had bought all three books together the last time she and Tegan had been in town for leisure. She asked for Tegan to take her to the bookstore so she could have some books to keep around the house instead of reading the same ones over and over again.

“Oh. Well… What’s this one about?” Tegan asked, moving closer to her twin.

“Well, it’s about this brother and sister that are in love with each other,” Sara said, giving a relatively simple synopsis on the story. “I mean, there’s a bunch of stuff in it about this family, but like, this is the thing that sticks out the most, I believe.”

“Brother and sister?” Tegan asked.

“Yes.”

“Cool.” Tegan leaned over and placed a kiss on Sara’s cheek before moving back to the spot where she had been watching her sister from previously. “Which one are you?”

“Oh, well…” Sara began, ducking her head and blushing. “You’ll just laugh at me because I’m the woman and you’re the mam, but… I really like this John character.”

“I won’t laugh at you,” Tegan replied softly. “I think that’s nice that you can identify with him like that.”

“You’re my Franny,” Sara smiled, biting her lip. “Just, not as forbidden.”

“That the sister?” Tegan asked, watching as Sara nodded in reply. “Do you think things will turn out alright for them?”

“No, I don’t think they will,” Sara answered, shaking her head. “I think maybe they’ll have a bit of something together and then go about their lives. Maybe they won’t see each other again, or maybe one will die, or both. I don’t know.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because, Tegan,” Sara replied, putting her bookmark in the book and closing it for a bit. “I mean, we know how these kinds of relationships can really be, without someone somewhere telling you it’s wrong and stuff. But these people, they don’t know that. They don’t think we get happy endings. They think we don’t have happily-ever-afters. That’s all they can fathom as an ending to a story like this. A story like ours.”

Tegan crawled back over to Sara’s side of the couch, gently kissing all over her face. “What about your other books. What were they like?”

“Well, Where The Red Fern Grows was about Billy, this boy from the Ozark Mountains, and these two Redbone Coonhounds that he buys and raises, one boy, one girl. And like, he does all this stuff with them and he teaches them to hunt and all that, and he goes out and hunts with them and…” Sara replied, stopping herself from going on. “I don’t want to spoil it for you.”

“It’s okay, go ahead,” Tegan said softly. “It’s not like I have a lot of time for books anyway.”

“Well, his grandpa signs him and his dogs up for this championship coon hunt, and all this stuff happens during it and finally his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, catch one last coon and it wins him, Billy, the competition. And so, anyway, he keeps up with hunting and stuff, always with Old Dan and Little Ann with him, and one night they tree a mountain lion, and it starts to attack the dogs. So Billy grabs his axe and tries to save the dogs, but they end up having to save him…” Sara took a pause, swallowing thickly as tears began to sting her eyes. “And um… Old Dan… he um… he gets hurt by the lion, and um… he dies.”

“Oh,” Tegan spoke up, reaching out to comfort her twin. Sara held up her hand, signaling for Tegan to wait until she finished.

“And then Little Ann loses the will to live and she stops eating, and she um… she dies on Old Dan’s grave,” Sara went on, wiping her eyes. “And um, they bury her, too, beside her… brother… and um, the family moves to town, because they can afford it now after Billy won that contest. So he and his family goes to visit the graves, and there’s a red fern growing between them.”

“Oh, Sara, that’s such a sad story,” Tegan said, moving to comfort Sara as she had originally planned. Sara wrapped her arms around her twin’s neck, crying quietly into her shoulder.

“You’re my Old Dan, too, Tee,” Sara said, her voice thick with her tears. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I–”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” Tegan said, rubbing Sara’s back soothingly. “I’m right here. I’m okay.”

“I just love you so much,” Sara replied.

“I love you, too,” Tegan said, kissing Sara’s cheek. “What about your other book? What was it about?”

“Oh, Into The Wild. That one’s sad, too, but not like Where The Red Fern Grows.” Sara said, moving back from Tegan’s embrace and wiping the last of her tears away. “It’s about this guy named Chris McCandless and how he um, left his life behind and went out to survive the wilderness in Alaska. He like, went with minimal supplies and was going to forage and stuff, rough it, you know? And he crossed this river there during the winter and he found this abandoned bus that he converted into his shelter and lived there for like, three months or something. Eventually his supplies ran out, and he decided that he wanted to go home, but the river had gotten bigger and deeper because of the thaw, so he was trapped in the bus after that. And eventually he… well, there’s a lot of debate about what really happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in the book, it says that he died because he ate some things that poisoned him and kept him from absorbing nutrients correctly and so he died in his sleeping bag. But like, people have all sorts of theories, because he kept a journal, but, at the end, it’s only marked in slashes. Some people say he just starved regularly, and others think that it might’ve been something to do with mold, and it’s just this big debate now.”

“Oh, it was real?” Tegan asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Sara replied. “Yeah, it was based on a true story. The guy was um… twenty-four.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I hope you don’t let it bother you,” Tegan said, placing her hand on Sara’s shoulder. “Like, just because we’re his age and stuff, like–”

“I know, Tee,” Sara replied, placing her hand on Tegan’s. “I’ve thought about it before, but, I know that it has nothing to do with us.”

“I love you,” Tegan whispered.

“I love you, too.”

*

“Hey, Tegan?” Sara asked as Tegan descended.

“Yeah, baby?” Tegan replied, scratching at the back of her head.

“Can you take me over to Big Holler?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Tegan answered. “You wanna go see daddy again?”

“Well, I was thinking of maybe hanging out with Robbie,” Sara said.

“Oh,” Tegan said. “I mean, I guess, yeah. We could go do that.”

“Thank you, Teetee,” Sara smiled, getting up and following Tegan to the door.

“Anything for you, Sasa,” Tegan replied, smiling back.

*

“Teetee, if you don’t want to spend time with Robbie and me, you can go see daddy. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Promise,” Sara spoke up as Tegan parked her car outside Rob and Ted’s house.

“No, no. I want to be with you,” Tegan replied.

“That’s sweet, Teetee,” Sara smiled. Maybe it wasn’t the sweet gesture it appeared to be on the outside. Tegan couldn’t help but feel jealousy at the thought of Sara spending time with Rob, alone. It was something that had happened the last time they had visited their cousin, and Tegan was wondering if maybe it would be a recurring thing, now. When they were younger, it didn’t matter. When they were younger, she never thought in the world that Sara would ever like someone else.

Ever since they were children, they had spent their time together. The adults always joked about the twins, about how they would end up together one day: Their mom, their mam, their father, their aunts, their uncles, all of them.

And maybe they had ended up together, sure, but what did it mean if Sara ended up liking Rob? Loving Rob? What then? Tegan didn’t want to think about it, but sometimes that was just how things went. You may not have wanted to think some things, but they got thought about anyway.

The twins got out of the car, Tegan reaching for Sara’s hand as they walked up to the door. Sara reached out, knocking on the door with a smile.

“Oh, T-Ted?” Sara asked, her smile being replaced by shock as Ted answered the door.

“Not who you were expecting?” Ted joked, smiling to his cousins. “Sorry I missed you guys last time.”

“No problem, Ted,” Tegan replied, smiling back to the man. This was easier. There was definitely something about seeing Ted that felt better than the last time she had seen Rob. She hated to think so, but it was true. Maybe it was just part of getting older. Maybe she and Rob didn’t have anything in common like they all did when they were kids. “Where is Rob, by the way?”

“Oh, he’s out fishing with his dad,” Ted answered, stepping to the side. “Would you two like to come in and keep me some company?”

“Yeah, we’d love to,” Tegan replied, leading Sara inside.

*

Tegan felt a small bubble of guilt as she laughed and joked. The last time she was in this house, she was quiet as a mouse, but this time, she was effervescent, she was alive. Maybe it was something between her and Rob. Maybe they didn’t get along now. It didn’t make the most sense, but it was all she had. How did two people that used to be so close drift apart like that in a matter of weeks?

“Rob said you weren’t talking much last time you were here, Tee,” Ted said, adjusting the sleeve of his shirt. “Why is that?”

“I don’t know, man,” Tegan replied, looking over to Sara quickly. “He seemed fine with Sara’s company, and I didn’t have anything to contribute anyway.”

“Yeah, he said he and Sara talked a lot,” Ted nodded.

“It was mostly Robbie talking,” Sara chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk so much before.”

“You still call him Robbie?” Ted asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Sara replied, confused. “Why?”

“No reason,” Ted replied, shaking his head. “Just, no one really calls him Robbie anymore. He outgrew the nickname, I guess.”

“Well, if he doesn’t like being called that, I can stop,” Sara offered softly.

“Nah, that boy don’t care,” Ted smiled. “Hell, he’d answer to anything as long as it’s respectful.”

Tegan looked out the window, wondering what time it was. Judging by the amount of light out, it was getting close to evening. She looked back over to Sara, smiling as she noticed that Sara and Ted were enjoying each other’s company. “Hey, Sasa?”

“Yeah, babe?” Sara asked, turning to her twin.

“It’s probably gonna get dark soon. You wanna go see daddy real quick before we have to get home and start supper?” Tegan asked.

“Oh, shoot,” Sara replied, worrying her lip between her teeth. “Ted, you don’t mind us leaving so soon, do you?”

“You two have been here a while,” Ted said with a smile. “No reason you can’t go see your dad and head home.”

“Okay. Sorry, Teddy,” Sara said, standing up and sharing a hug with her cousin.

“Oh, now I got my own nickname,” Ted joked, before moving to hug Tegan next.

“I guess you do,” Sara laughed.

“We’ll see you around, Ted,” Tegan said, leading Sara back outside.

“Hey, girls, don’t tell me I just missed you!”

“There’s Robbie,” Sara smiled, waving to their cousin as he pulled up in his truck.

“You leaving?” Rob asked as he stopped the truck and got out.

“Yeah, we’re about to head over to daddy’s house and see him real quick, then head home and get supper started,” Tegan replied. So far, so good. She didn’t feel any jealousy at the moment. Maybe the previous visit was just a fluke.

“Ah, yeah?” Rob replied, picking up his cooler from the bed of the truck. “What’re you having?”

“Hayley gave us some deer steaks that she and Courtney had, so we’re having those,” Tegan answered.

“You two ain’t got your own meat?” Rob joked.

“Tegan hasn’t been out hunting in a while, and we only have the one cow on our farm for milk,” Sara answered, pointing her thumb over to her twin.

“I fucking hate hunting,” Tegan groaned, rolling her eyes. “Mam is always so strict when we go, and I hate killing things.”

“Part of life, girl,” Rob said, holding up his cooler. “Had to do it myself earlier.”

“Oh, you caught some fish?” Sara asked.

“A few of ‘em,” Rob noted, lowering the cooler again. “Dad caught more than I did.”

“Is that what you guys are having tonight?” Tegan asked.

“Nah,” Rob replied, shaking his head. “Take too long to get ‘em clean tonight. Just gonna wait till tomorrow.”

“Hope you like them,” Tegan nodded, putting her hand on the small of Sara’s back. “We gotta go now, so we can make it home in time.”

“Well, don’t be strangers,” Rob said, hugging Sara unlike last time. Tegan averted her gaze subconsciously before Rob moved over to hug her as well. “Maybe I won’t miss you next time.”

“Bye, Robbie,” Sara smiled, waving to the man as he walked up the steps to the house.

“See you later,” Tegan added, getting in the car with Sara and heading over to their father’s house.

*

“I hope you don’t mind that we stopped and talked to Robbie before we went and saw daddy earlier,” Sara spoke up as she set the food down on the table in front of Tegan.

“No, I don’t mind,” Tegan replied, grabbing a steak for herself and some corn. “He’s our cousin.”

“Well, I just mean, like… last time we were there, you didn’t really seem to want to talk to him,” Sara said, sitting down at the table across from Tegan and making her own plate.

“Mm, this is good, baby,” Tegan spoke up, chewing a piece of meat and ignoring Sara’s statement.

“Thank you,” Sara replied, looking down to her plate. Maybe it was best to just drop the subject.

“I don’t have anything against Rob,” Tegan said suddenly. “It was just that night. You saw, we talked earlier.”

“Tegan?”

“Yeah?”

“If you didn’t like Robbie… if you were jealous of him… you would let me know, right?”

The room was silent for a moment as Tegan thought about her answer. Would she? Would she let Sara know? She already assumed she had some sort of problem with their cousin, but she thought maybe it was just that night. She didn’t have any trouble talking to him earlier that day. Except for when he hugged Sara.

“Yeah, I’d tell you.”

“You know you’re the only one for me, right, Tegan?” Sara asked softly, staring at the top of Tegan’s head as the other woman kept her eyes on her plate.

“I know.”

“Are we fighting?” Sara asked, setting her fork down on her plate.

Tegan stood up from her seat and walked over to Sara’s side of the table. She knelt down in front of her twin, looking her in the eye. “We’re not fighting,” she said, kissing Sara‘s lips softly. “I love you more than anything else in the world. I’m not jealous, and I know you love me, too.”

“I just don’t want to you to be jealous… you know, in case we decide that we want a kid and we choose Robbie,” Sara replied.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Tegan said. “I think I’ll care way more about having a baby with you than I will about who gets to… um… you know.”

“Another con.”

“What?”

“Another con,” Sara repeated. “That’s another con to having a baby. I can’t make it with you, and you might get jealous.”

“Come on,” Tegan said. She stood up from her spot, covering the food on the table before picking Sara up from her seat. Sara giggled in surprise as Tegan turned around and carried her up the stairs, to their bedroom. “You need some loving from big sister Teetee.”

“Little sister Sasa loves big sister Teetee,” Sara smiled, resting her head on Tegan’s shoulder.

“Big sister Teetee loves little sister Sasa, too,” Tegan replied, placing a kiss on Sara’s forehead. “So much.”


	5. Hunting Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter of The Holler. Sadly, this is the last chapter that I have prepared for this story at the moment, so things might start to slow down. I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you guys think. I'm very curious to see what things people have to say about this story.

She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to at all. Tegan walked slowly back into the house after checking on things out back one last time for the night. She didn’t want to get up tomorrow. Their mam had come by earlier in the day to let Tegan know that they were going to go out hunting tomorrow. Tegan hated it. She always hated hunting. She remembered being little, and her mam forcing her to go.

*

“I don’t wanna kill nothing, mammy,” Tegan complained as her mam led her through the expanse of trees that surrounded their hollow.

“I know, baby, but this is just something we have to do,” Tammy replied, stopping by a tree with a stand hidden in its branches. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Mammy, why can’t Sara do this instead?” Tegan asked as she climbed slowly up the makeshift ladder.

“Because she’s with your mama, learning how to take care of the house.”

“Lucky.”

*

“What time is mam coming to get you?” Sara asked as Tegan crawled into their bed for the night. Sara had been sitting up, reading more of her book as she waited for Tegan to come inside and get ready for bed. She marked her spot in the book before placing it on the table beside her side of the bed and laying down.

“She’s coming around five,” Tegan yawned, as she and Sara turned off their respective lamps. “I don’t wanna go.”

“I know, Teetee,” Sara whispered.

“I wish I didn’t have to hunt,” Tegan said. She reached her arm out, gently holding onto Sara’s midsection and bringing her closer. “I wish I could just poof up some food for us.”

“I’m sorry you have to do it,” Sara replied, kissing Tegan’s lips. “I wish I could change it.”

“I guess I just need to mam up. That’s what mam always says, right?”

“Get me up when you get up, okay, Tegan?” Sara offered.

“Why?” Tegan asked, confused.

“I want to tell you goodbye before you have to go out,” Sara replied. “Then I’ll come back in here and take a nap for a bit or something.”

“I love you,” Tegan whispered. Her eyes drooped down on their own. Surely she would be dozing off soon, and waking up again in no time.

“I love you, too,” Sara replied, snuggling into her sister’s warmth.

*

Tegan padded around the house slowly, not quite fully awake just yet. She walked into the kitchen, smelling the pot of coffee Sara put on after Tegan woke her. She grabbed a cup from the cabinet, pouring some coffee for herself. She didn’t drink coffee very much, but she did when she would have to go hunting. Her mam expected her to be wide awake by the time they headed out, and this would help.

Sara descended the stairs a moment later from the bathroom, walking into the kitchen and pouring her own cup, just as Tegan had done earlier.

“Heard from mam yet?” she asked, taking a sip of the steamy beverage.

“No,” Tegan croaked, shaking her head. “But she’ll show up, like clockwork.”

“What are you guys using this time?” Sara asked.

“Bows,” Tegan replied. She walked over to the table and sitting down. “Doesn’t matter what we use, really. I’ll hate it just the same.”

“I wish you could get out of it, baby,” Sara said. She walked to Tegan’s seat and set her cup on the table. She took Tegan’s cup from her and placed herself in her twin’s lap, before handing the cup back and retrieving her own.

“I do it for you,” Tegan said softly, staring at Sara’s lips. Something about being up in the morning with Sara was always so enticing. Maybe it was the fact that she had previous engagements that she never wanted. “I don’t mean that in a begrudging way. I mean it like, it’s the only reason I can actually put up with it.”

“I know,” Sara replied, smiling. “Stop staring at my lips.”

“I’m gonna kiss them,” Tegan said, showing her own smile before capturing Sara’s lips as she had promised. They separated soon afterward, both taking sips of coffee and laughing at their sameness.

“Do you think mom and mam do this?” Sara asked. “Get all kissy with each other and stuff?”

“Probably,” Tegan said. “Mam’s always talking about mom and stuff when we’re alone.”

“Oh yeah?” Sara asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yeah,” Tegan smiled. “They’re so in love.”

“That’s really sweet,” Sara replied. “Mom’s the same way about mam.”

A knock sounded on the door, followed shortly by Tammy walking in. “You ready to go, Tee?”

“No,” Tegan replied, tapping Sara’s leg to let her know to let her up. Sara moved from her spot in Tegan’s lap, walking to the living room and hugging their mam. “But I guess I have to do it.”

“Bye, I love you, be careful,” Sara said, pulling Tegan into a hug and kissing her sweetly.

“Love you, too,” Tegan smiled, stealing another kiss before heading out the door with her mam.

*

“Couldn’t you just do this yourself and then bring me and Sara some meat?” Tegan asked as she and Tammy walked through the woods.

“Girl, I swear,” Tammy said, shaking her head. “You complain so much when we come out here.”

“I can’t help it, mammy,” Tegan sighed. “I hate doing this. I hate having to kill things.”

“Well, I don’t like doing it either, Tegan,” Tammy said. “You think I like having to get up so damn early just to make sure your mom and I can live? No. I hate it. It’s just a fact of life, Tegan.”

“But I don’t want to hunt. It’s too early, and I already have to get up early to farm. Why do I have to do this?” Tegan whined. She was cranky. Sometimes she got cranky before she and her mam went out to hunt, other times, she was just a tad grumpy.

“Tegan, quit whining. This is mam’s work, going out and hunting for your woman. Generations of mams have done this. You’re not the only one,” Tammy scolded, turning around to look at her oldest daughter as they made it to her mam’s stand. “Now get your butt up there and wait for game, you hear me?”

“Yes sir,” Tegan replied dejectedly, climbing into the hunting stand.

*

“Have you and Sara discussed having kids anymore?” Tammy asked quietly as she and Tegan waited for an unknowing animal to pass by.

“We’re listing pros and cons right now,” Tegan whispered, wiping her nose. It was starting to get cold outside. Summer was checking out early this year and Fall had no problem picking up the slack.

“How many you got right now?”

“Two each,” Tegan answered. There was a brief moment of silence in the stand as the two sat still. “Mammy?”

“Yeah, baby?” Tammy replied.

“How did you and mama decide to have me and Sara?” Tegan asked, setting her bow down on the floor of the stand.

“Well, Tee,” Tammy began, doing the same. There hadn’t been much action at the moment, and taking her eyes off of the ground below wouldn’t hurt too bad. “Your mama and I were over at your grandparents’ house, my mama and daddy, and we were sitting in my old room, looking at these old pictures of me and your daddy as kids, and just out of the blue, your mama looks at me… she looks at me and says, ‘I want these with you.’”

“H-How did you react when she said that?” Tegan asked, absently scooting closer to her mam.

“I thought she was joking,” Tammy said, chuckling at the memory. “I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ and she looked at me and she says, ‘No, Tam. I’m serious. I’m ready to have children with you.’”

“Were you ready for it?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Tammy smiled, nodding her head. “Just right then, it all clicked. I had felt like, ‘Oh my god, I love this woman, but something is missing,’ and when she said she wanted to have kids with me, I knew that was what I was missing.”

“Were you disappointed that there were two of us when there was supposed to be one?” Tegan asked quietly. Tammy smiled to her daughter, pulling her over to her (setting Tegan in her lap without thinking) and holding her tightly.

“Nah, baby,” she said, kissing Tegan’s temple sweetly, motherly. “If anything, having two of you was even better than having one.”

They slipped into silence again, Tegan staying in her mam’s lap as they watched the ground below. Soon, a deer stepped into the clearing, poking around at the ground with it’s nose.

“Tee, there,” Tammy whispered, pointing to the animal in front of them. “Grab your bow, baby.”

“Mammy, I… I can’t,” Tegan replied, reaching her hand out for the weapon despite her feelings.

“Yes you can, Teegy,” Tammy encouraged, using a name she had called Tegan as a child. Tegan held the bow nervously in her hands, grabbing an arrow and drawing it. Tammy placed her hands on Tegan’s, helping her daughter steady herself and take aim. “Mammy’s got you, mammy can help.”

“Mammy, I’m scared,” Tegan confided, tears stinging her eyes. “I don’t like doing it.”

“Shh, it’s okay Teegy,” Tammy said softly. “Let mammy help you. Let her help you take the shot.”

“Mammy…”

“Three…”

“Mammy, I-I can’t…”

“Two…”

“Mammy…”

“One.” Tegan closed her eyes as she felt her mam encourage her to let go of the arrow. She heard the projectile whip by her ear as the string of the bow popped forward. It was done. The arrow was gone. She shot it. She shot the deer. A few tears began to slip through her closed eyes. Tammy took the bow out of Tegan’s hand and spun her around, hugging her tightly.

“It’s okay, Tegan. Mammy’s got you.” All the while, Tammy kept her eyes on the deer, watching as the animal ran off. They would find it later. Right now, she needed to play her part as Tegan’s mam and make her feel better about what just happened. “It’s okay. You did it. You’re mammy’s big girl.”

“I love you, mammy,” Tegan wept.

“Mammy loves you, too, Teegy,” Tammy replied, stroking her daughter’s hair.

*

It was all so familiar. It was just like when Tegan was young, and her mam would take her hunting. She would sit in her mam’s lap with her bow resting on her legs until an animal wandered by. Tammy would guide her daughter’s hands to do what they needed, but it would still be Tegan’s kill. Tegan hated it, she always had and always would, but she had to admit, her mammy made it feel much better.

After they returned from hunting, Tammy would take both of her daughters outside and play with them for hours. Tegan loved that most. Her mammy cared about her, and it showed.

“Mammy?” Tegan asked one day on the way back home. She had cried her eyes out after having killed another buck. She knew then, even at her young age, that she would always do it.

“Yeah, Teegy?” Tammy replied.

“Why do you always make me shoot something?”

“Well, Teegy,” Tammy said, stopping her daughter by a tree. She knelt down in front of the girl, getting eye to eye with her. “One day you’ll have to do this all on your own. Your mammy won’t always be up in that tree with you, and if you want to provide for someone, you’ll have to be able to shoot things.”

“Why won’t you be with me?” Tegan asked.

“That’s just the way things are, Teegy,” Tammy replied, smiling sadly. She felt a sting in her eyes, looking at one of her two beautiful daughters. They would understand one day, but she wouldn’t force the knowledge on them. “But mammy will always be right here.” she pointed to Tegan’s heart. “And she will always help you pull that arrow back, or pull that trigger when you need her to most.”

“I love you, mammy,” Tegan smiled, hugging her mam tightly.

“Mammy loves you, too, Teegy.”

*

“Thank you for helping me back there,” Tegan said softly as she and her mam rode back to the hollow in her mam’s truck. The family often referred to it as the hunting truck, as it was only used when Tammy went hunting. Tegan had asked during one trip, where the truck had come from. Her mam told her it was a gift from her parents when she moved to Little Holler.

“Of course I’m gonna help my baby,” Tammy replied, smiling over to Tegan. “You’re a mam, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be sensitive.”

“Sometimes I wonder,” Tegan replied, looking down to her hands. “You know, mams don’t cry and all that.”

“Oh, that’s all just a bunch of hooey that the oldies came up with,” Tammy said, waving off the comment. “We have emotions, just like everyone else.”

“Mammy?” Tegan asked softly as the truck bounced from side to side. She could hear their kills shifting around in the bed.

“Yeah, Tee?”

“Am I a bad mam?”

“Are you happy?” Tammy asked, answering with a question of her own.

“So happy,” Tegan said, thinking about Sara. She couldn’t help but smile at that. She was. She was so genuinely happy, no matter what things she had to do.

“Then you’re the best mam ever,” Tammy said softly.

*

Tegan was confused as she and her mam pulled up to her and Sara’s house. There was a truck parked outside, but why? And why did it look so familiar? She racked her brain as the truck came to a stop and she got out.

“You don’t mind cleaning mine for me?” Tegan asked, turning back to her mam with the door in her hand.

“I’ll take care of it, baby, don’t worry,” Tammy smiled. “Your mama will bring your meat over when it’s cleaned up for you.”

“Okay. Thanks mam,” Tegan replied. “Love you, bye.”

“Bye, baby,” Tammy said, waving her hand as she drove off.

And then her mind went back to the truck outside the house again. Whose could it be? It had to be someone she knew, or else it wouldn’t look so familiar to her. Hell, it wouldn’t even be up in these mountains if it didn’t belong to someone she knew.

Tegan’s mood plummeted as she opened the door. No. No. No, no, no, no, no. Why was Rob here? Why was he in their house, alone with Sara? What business could he possibly have with being there?

“Oh, hey, Tegan,” Rob said upon noticing his cousin at the door.

“What are you doing here, Rob?” Tegan asked. She wasn’t sure she sounded rude, really. She wasn’t sure how she sounded. She just asked a question.

“Well, I was on my way back from taking care of some stuff in town, so I thought I’d stop by and see how you two were doing. Sara told me you were out hunting with your mam,” Rob replied. “Get anything?”

“Yeah, we got a few,” Tegan replied, walking over to the couch that Rob and Sara were sharing. She wedged herself between the two, making sure they couldn’t have any contact with one another.

“That’s good,” Rob smiled. “Keep you girls fed.”

“Yep,” Sara said, rubbing a hand up and down Tegan’s arm. “My baby’s a good provider.”

“I missed you while I was out there,” Tegan said, turning to her twin and kissing her lips quickly. “How was your day?”

“Boring,” Sara replied. “I missed you, too.”

“I hate to run after you just got here, Tee, but I get the feeling you wanna be alone with Sara right now,” Rob spoke up, standing from his seat.

“Nonsense,” Sara said.

“Yeah, man, you don’t have to go just cause I showed up,” Tegan said. She really did want to be alone with Sara, however. Maybe that was why she felt so bad when she saw Rob there.

“Nah, you two need to have some alone time,” Rob said. “Trust me, I live with a guy in a relationship. I know when I need to head on.”

“You sure?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, I’ll see you two again,” Rob replied, walking toward the door. “Tegan, I’m sorry I didn’t get to chat with you long.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tegan said, waving Rob’s apology off. “We’ll catch up again I reckon.”

“See you girls later,” Rob chuckled, stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

Tegan watched through the blinds of the window as the vague shape of a truck pulled away from their house. She turned to Sara once she was sure it was okay to speak up again. “I don’t want him coming here when I’m not home.”

“He was just stopping by to say hi, Tegan,” Sara replied. “What’s the matter?”

“I just…” Tegan closed her eyes, seeing visions she didn’t care for. All on this couch. All involving Rob and Sara, her Sara. It was too much. It wasn’t right. She was the only one for Sara. No one else. “It was jarring, okay?”

“Jarring?” Sara asked softly.

“Seeing you two sitting here on the couch like that, alone… I just… I think Rob’s into you, Sara. I really do.”

“Oh, Teetee,” Sara giggled. “Robbie doesn’t like me like that. He’s the same old Robbie he’s always been.”

“I don’t know.”

“Look, Tegan, I understand that you might see Robbie as competition, but he’s just cousin Robbie, okay? You’re the only one for me. You’re my mam,” Sara replied.

“You don’t like him like that?” Tegan asked softly.

“No. I like you like that,” Sara answered. “Is that what’s been bothering you lately?”

“No,” Tegan replied, half lying. “I just… I saw you two on the couch here and I… my mind went rampant.”

“You don’t have to worry about us, Tegan,” Sara said. She motioned for Tegan to scoot down to the cushion that Rob had occupied. Tegan complied, confusedly watching as Sara leaned her body forward until her head rested in Tegan’s lap, looking up at her. “If Robbie ever tries anything with me, then I can set him straight. But he won’t. Robbie doesn’t like me that way.”

“Mam asked me if we were still talking about having kids,” Tegan said, running her fingers through Sara’s hair.

“Yeah?”

“I told her we were listing pros and cons right now.”

“Do we have anymore right now?” Sara asked, closing her eyes. It felt good to have Tegan play with her hair this way.

“Not that I know of,” Tegan replied. She leaned forward to kiss Sara’s forehead quickly before sitting back up. “But that’s okay.”

“Yeah,” Sara smiled. “We’ll think of them as we go.”

“Hey, Sasa?”

“What?”

“I love you,” Tegan said softly, smiling down to her twin. Sara opened her eyes, returning Tegan’s smile.

“I love you, too, Teetee,” she replied.


	6. Molasses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I finally got this chapter finished. Sorry about the drop off like that, everyone. I hope you all are still enjoying this story. Let me know what you think of this chapter, please. Hope everyone enjoys.

“Okay, baby. I love you.” Sara and Tegan exchanged a kiss before the older twin went outside to another day of hard work. Sara stood by the window in the kitchen, watching as Tegan started about her rounds. She moved away a moment later, looking around the room. Nothing seemed to need her immediate attention in here.

She walked out of the kitchen and into the laundry room, grabbing an empty basket before heading upstairs to her and Tegan’s bedroom. _Stupid sex_ , she thought as she walked around the room, picking up discarded articles of clothing here and there and placing them in the basket. _Let’s see… two bras, two shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of underwear, three socks… Three?_ “What the fuck?”

Sara looked around the room. Where could that sock be? She looked under her bedside table. Nothing. Under Tegan’s. Nothing there, either. Under the dresser? No. She needed to find that sock. She couldn’t very well do laundry without it. Well, she could, but one of them would be down a sock.

“Oh, the bed!” she exclaimed. She set the basket it down on top of the bed before getting down on the floor and searching under the frame of the bed. Yep, there it was. “Come here you little shit.” She snatched the sock up in her hand before standing up and placing it in the basket with the rest of yesterday’s clothing. She gathered up a few more dirty clothes before taking everything back downstairs and to the laundry room to start the wash.

*

While the clothes were in the washing machine, Sara set about sweeping and vacuuming the floors. She started upstairs and worked her way down, a technique she learned from her mother.

“Start from the top then go to the bottom,” Sonia had told her. “That way it seems like it’s going by quicker.”

Of course, there were benefits to doing it her mother’s way, also. She could start upstairs in the guest room (of which there was very little use aside from the occasional late night visit by one of their cousins from Big Holler) and look out the window to see Tegan hard at work, then finish downstairs in the kitchen to see her once again. She liked watching Tegan work sometimes.

Something about it left her in awe. Tegan was out there working. Her mam. Tegan was her mam and she was Tegan’s woman. She was proud of her work around the house. People might wonder, might misconstrue things. They might assume that all the women in the hollow wished to be the mam instead, the provider, but no. Everyone was happy with who they were, their role. Tegan put up a fuss a lot, but it was mostly for show, she knew. Tegan loved farming. Tegan loved doing the things that were expected of a mam, aside from killing. She couldn’t blame Tegan on that one.

“We could turn this into the baby’s room,” Sara giggled as she brought the vacuum into the guest room. “No one stays the night anymore, and if they did, then we could just let the baby sleep in the room with us.”

She wasn’t being serious, no, but she wasn’t quite joking either. She had a lot of time to think about things while she was in the house by herself. Often times now, she would find herself thinking about children with Tegan. Maybe it was all the baby talk now. Maybe it was the discussion making her think so.

She started the vacuum up, shaking her head good naturedly as she began cleaning the floor of the room. The whirring of the appliance filled the room. It was one of the sounds of the day for her. The vacuum, the washing machine, the stove, all these things. They were all how she knew the day. Tegan had different noises to associate with the day, she knew. The sounds of birds as they rested in the trees above or flew overhead, the moo of their lone cow grazing, the sounds of Sara’s chickens in their coop. Those were Tegan’s sounds of the day.

Sara shut off the vacuum once she was done in the guest room, walking over to the plug and pulling it out of the socket in order to transport it to the next room. She let the vacuum rest on the floor for a bit, deciding to walk over to the window to see Tegan. She looked so handsome down in the field, tending to her crops. It was a new batch now. The summer weather wasn’t sticking around now, and so Tegan had opted for more fall oriented produce.

Sara knocked on the window loudly. She knew Tegan wouldn’t hear, but she just wanted to try, anyway. She loved Tegan. She stayed at the window for a few seconds longer before deciding to get back to her work.

*

The house was clean. Clean enough at least. It couldn’t really be one hundred percent clean, but it could get pretty darn close. Sara took pride in how well she could clean house. Her mother always praised her for how well she did it when she was younger.

“You’re a natural, sweetie,” she would say.

“Thank you, mama,” Sara would reply, smiling. “I learn from the best.”

She walked back into the kitchen and picked up the small hand basket she left there for gathering eggs in. She would check on her babies, her chickens, right now. She stepped outside, letting the screen door slam behind her as she did, causing Tegan to snap her head in the direction of the house. The twins smiled to each other, waving and blowing kisses, before going about their individual business once again.

Sara walked into the coop with her smile still in place. “Hey, girls. Do you have any eggies for me?” she asked the hens as she stepped inside. “You got some eggy eggs for mama?”

The chickens continued to cluck as Sara approached them. She searched each nest individually, spotting about one egg for each. She had a total of seven chickens, enough to feed her and Tegan, and still have some left for the market. They were starting to lay less now, as the weather was changing. Seven was still a good number. She gathered all the eggs in the basket, talking to the hens as she walked out. “Bye bye, babies. You all be good and I’ll come back later and let you out into the real sun, okay?”

Sara stepped out of the coop with her basket in hand, ready to take the eggs back inside to properly wash them before putting them in the fridge for storage. She didn’t care for this part. Cleaning the house was easy. Cleanings eggs was a little harder. They were smaller, and were going to be ingested, so she had to take more care in cleaning them. She walked into the kitchen and set the small basket down on the counter before searching for her cleaning supplies.

*

Once Sara was finished with the final egg, she grabbed a cart from the cabinet. She noted that there was only a few left, meaning she would have to buy more soon. It wasn’t safe to store multiple batches of eggs in one carton. The Styrofoam or cardboard would absorb the bacteria from each batch and deposit it on the next. She placed the eggs down in the carton neatly before putting them in the fridge to store for the next time they were needed.

“Hoo, a breather,” she said as she walked over to the table and took a seat. She peered into the living room from her seat, letting her mind wander. She saw Tegan. In her mind’s eye, she could see Tegan sitting in the floor, playing with a baby. She smiled. She couldn’t help herself, really. Tegan was sitting on her knees, holding the baby and letting her bounce on them. The baby giggled excitedly. Tegan laughed along with her.

Sara wanted to hold them. Both of them. She wanted to put her arms around her mam. She wanted to hold her baby to her chest. It was sweet. She thought about her own parents, then, her mom and mam. She wondered what they were like as new parents. She wondered how natural they were, and how much they had to learn. She decided she would ask. Maybe the next time she and Tegan went over to visit, she would ask.

*

Sara walked into the kitchen once more after putting the clothes in the dryer. It was time to start supper. What could they have tonight? There was still some meat from the deer Tegan had killed recently. They had eaten quite a bit of deer lately, though. But then again, if you lived in the mountains as they did, you couldn’t really be picky about what you ate. Maybe she could use it.

“Oh, pork chops!” Of course. She had forgotten about those. They had recently acquired some pork from their uncle Glen, who had hogs and various animals on his farm in Big Holler. They hadn’t had pork chops in a while, and she was kind of in the mood for them now.

“Yeah, yeah…” she said, thinking aloud as she looked around the kitchen for the supplies. “Yeah, I could make glazed pork chops. A little brown sugar…”

“Oh.” There was no brown sugar. Sara shrugged her shoulders. She could always just whip some up with white sugar and molasses. She opened up another cabinet, searching through for the bottle of molasses she kept there. Nothing. They must’ve been out. Sara shook her head at her misfortune, walking over to a draw on the counter where she kept a notepad for things they needed for the next time they went shopping. _Egg cartons and molasses/brown sugar_. She walked out the back door to grab Tegan’s attention.

“Tegan!”

“What?”

“I need to go borrow some molasses for supper. I’ll be right back,” Sara answered.

“What are you making?” Tegan asked.

“Glazed pork chops,” Sara replied. “We’re out of brown sugar and molasses.”

“Okay. I’m almost done out here for the day, so I might be in the shower when you get back, I don’t know.” Tegan said, scratching the back of her head.

“Okay, just let my chickens outside for a bit before you come in,” Sara suggested. “I’ll be right back. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Tegan called out as Sara disappeared through the door once more.

*

Sara stepped out the front door, looking around the buildings here and there. She looked off to the right of their house, spotting their parents’ home. No. She thought maybe they were asking for too much stuff from their mothers at the moment. They would be happy to help, she knew, but she felt like sometimes she and Tegan asked for too much.

She turned the other way, walking in the opposite direction of her mothers’ home and instead looking for her cousins Hayley and Courtney. It would be nice to see them for a bit. The couple had had a baby last year, and Sara just absolutely adored her. She was possibly the cutest thing Sara had ever seen in her life.

She came upon the house, smiling to herself as she approached the door. She knocked lightly, waiting for someone to answer.

“Oh, Sara? What brings you here?” Courtney asked happily.

“Well, can I be a bitch and ask to borrow some molasses from you guys?” Sara asked, shaking her head. “Tegan and I are out.”

“Yeah, sure,” Courtney answered, stepping to the side. “Would you like to come in for a sec?”

“Sure,” Sara replied, stepping into her cousins’ house. She heard the baby in the kitchen, laughing as her mother played with her. “You guys eating right now?”

“I was just about to sit down, yeah,” Courtney answered, closing the door and walking into the kitchen with Sara behind her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Court, I didn’t know,” Sara apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” the other girl said, walking over to a cabinet to find what Sara had come to borrow.

Sara looked over to the side, waving to Hayley as the redhead fed the baby in front of her. “Hi, Hayley,” she said.

“Hey, Sara,” Hayley smiled, scooping up some mashed potatoes from her plate and feeding them to her daughter.

“Hi, Emma,” Sara said, her voice higher as she talked to the baby. She bent down so that she could be eye to eye with the child. “Hi.”

“Can you say hi to Sara, baby?” Hayley asked, baby talking to the child. “Can you say, ‘Hi, Sara,’?”

“Sa… Sa…” the baby replied, picking up on one of the sounds made by her mother.

“Yes, baby, Sasa,” Sara giggled before turning to Hayley. “That how mama and mammy say we got our nicknames. Tegan would only be able to say Sasa and I’d only be able to say Teetee.”

“That’s cute,” Hayley replied, before feeding Emma again. “I bet you guys were cute babies.”

“We were,” Sara laughed. “Hey… do you um… do you think I could feed her real quick?”

“Emma?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure, here,” Hayley replied, gathering another spoonful of potatoes and handing it to Sara. “Just go slowly. Sometimes if you go too fast she won’t want it.”

“Okay.” Sara nodded. She steadied the spoon in her hand, and waited for Emma to face her. “Here comes the choo-choo, Emma,” Sara said softly, moving the spoon slowly toward the infant’s mouth. Emma looked at Sara’s hand curiously, watching the utensil draw closer. Sara made soft train noises with her mouth as she moved the spoon. Emma smiled at first, apparently enjoying the sounds Sara was making for her, before opening her mouth. “Whoo whoo!” Sara sounded, tilting the spoon up to ensure all the potatoes went into the baby’s mouth before handing the spoon back to Hayley.

“You like that, baby?” Hayley cooed. “You like Sara feeding you?”

“Thanks for letting me do that, Hayley,” Sara smiled. She was shaking. It was so exhilarating to feed a baby. She had never done it before. She loved it.

“No problem,” the redhead replied, picking up some food for herself.

“Here’s that molasses,” Courtney spoke up, handing Sara a small cup with the syrupy substance. “Hope that’s enough.”

“Thanks, Court,” Sara said, heading for the door. “You’re a life saver.”

“Don’t mention it,” Courtney replied, sitting down at the table with her family.

*

“So who’d you get the molasses from?” Tegan asked as Sara sat the food down on the table.

“Hayley and Courtney,” Sara replied as the twins began to set their plates.

“You just wanted to see the baby,” Tegan teased.

“I might’ve been looking forward to it, yes,” Sara joked. “But I really did need the molasses so I could make some brown sugar.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tegan smiled, taking a bite of her pork chop. “Mmm, so good. Baby, you’re the best.”

“Thank you,” Sara smiled, blushing at her twin’s adulation.

“Did you play with the baby?” Tegan asked after taking another bite of food.

“Didn’t have the time, really,” Sara replied, shaking her head. “Hayley let me feed her.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sara smiled, remembering the feelings she got from feeding the baby herself. “It was… amazing. It felt so awesome to just like… I fed a baby. Me! I fed a baby!”

“Sounds like you really liked it,” Tegan noted.

“Yes. It felt really good,” Sara replied.

“Another pro?” Tegan asked, looking up from her plate with a smirk.

“Definitely.”


	7. The Liberry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everybody, here's the new chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone is enjoying the story and continues to do so. Let me know what you think, please.
> 
> WARNING: Mention of child and animal sex abuse in this chapter.

Sara descended the stairs, rubbing the sleep from one eye as she did so. She could smell fresh coffee. That was good. _Aw, Tegan’s so sweet_ , she thought. Tegan was sweet. Sara didn’t think there was a more loving mam in the world than her sister. Her mammy was sweet to her mother, but she was sure Tegan was sweeter. Maybe it was her love for Tegan that made her believe so. Maybe it was true. Either way, she was happy to have Tegan as her love.

Tegan stepped in through the back door as Sara poured herself a cup of coffee. Tegan took her flannel shirt off and threw it on the back of one of the chairs before inspecting her right arm. Red. There was red. Sara knew it couldn’t have been one of Tegan’s tattoos. It was too vibrant and fresh looking.

“Oh, Tegan, what happened?” Sara rushed over to her twin, holding her arm tenderly in her hands.

“That fucking cow,” Tegan replied, inspecting the wound. “I was trying to get her to come outside to graze and she fucking tried to kick me.”

“Did she get you? Is anything broken?” Sara asked.

“No. No she didn’t get me,” Tegan said, nodding her head toward one of the cabinets. “Get me some Neosporin and a band-aid, please.”

Sara stepped to the cabinet, rummaging through its contents before finding the antibiotic cream and a big bandage. “You’re gonna need this big one,” she said. “That’s too big of a cut for just a puny old little one.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Tegan replied, nodding her head.

“What happened?” Sara asked, leading Tegan over to the sink to wash her wound. “Like, how did you get this if she missed you?”

“I jumped out of the way when she kicked her leg out and lost my balance,” Tegan answered, wincing at the tenderness of the cut. “I fell and hit a fucking nail from one of those ties.”

“Are you gonna be okay here? Do we need to take you to the hospital?” Sara asked, worrying.

“No, it’s fine,” Tegan replied. “We went at the beginning of the year and got shots. I’ll be okay as long as we clean up here.”

“Okay,” Sara said.

*

“You okay? How’s your arm feeling?” Sara asked as she and Tegan traveled down the mountain in their car, heading down to the town below to visit the store. Sara had told Tegan the previous night about needing to get brown sugar or molasses, and egg cartons.

“My arm’s okay,” Tegan laughed, shaking her head a bit as the car bounced from side to side. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

“I’m always gonna worry about you,” Sara replied softly.

“And I’m always gonna worry about you,” Tegan said. They grew silent momentarily as the trees and foliage passed by them slowly. Rocks kicked up and dirt flew in the breeze as they traveled closer to the bottom of their mountain.

“Hey, Tegan?” Sara asked.

“Yeah?”

“Can you take me to the liberry so I can check my internet?” Sara asked. Sara wanted to check her email (her internet) at the local library (liberry). It had been some time since she had, so she assumed that there might be something new worth checking out.

“Yeah, sure,” Tegan replied, glancing to her twin quickly. “You wanna go there first, or you wanna go to the store first?”

“We can go to the liberry first,” Sara answered. “I don’t know how much time we might spend there while I’m on the computer.”

“Okay, then.”

*

“Yes, hello,” Tegan said, her voice soft as she and Sara walked up to the desk in the library. “My sister wants to use the computer.”

“Okay, sure,” the woman behind the desk replied, pointing to a sheet of paper on the end of it. “Just tell her to sign her name and the time and it’s all hers for the hour.”

“Oh, I don’t need it near that long,” Sara smiled, picking up a pencil and filling out the information she was supposed to. “Thank you.”

The twins walked over to the public computers, finding one open in the corner. Sara sat down and logged on as Tegan pulled a chair up beside her. Tegan sunk down in her seat, playing with Sara’s thigh absentmindedly.

“People are gonna see you doing that,” Sara whispered as she waited for her email page to load.

“You want me to stop?” Tegan asked.

“I don’t want you to stop, no, but it’s probably for the best,” Sara replied sadly. “You know how townies can be.”

“Okay,” Tegan said. She moved her hand from Sara’s leg and sat up, trying to find something else to do with it.

“Says here there’s some sort of music thing going on a few towns over next weekend,” Sara noted as she scrolled through her inbox. “And something about a sale on something at the store.”

“That’s cool,” Tegan replied, leaning over to see the screen better. “Maybe we won’t have to spend so much when we go later.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Sara said, smiling at the proximity of her sister. She smelled nice. She always smelled nice. Was that weird to think? She assumed not. She thought about it anytime she was this close to Tegan, which was often. It was natural to inhale the scent of someone you loved when they were close.

“Look at those two over there,” a soft voice said from behind them. “They’re from the mountains, can’t you tell?”

“Tegan,” Sara whispered.

“I know, I hear them,” Tegan said, sitting more rigidly. “Just ignore them.”

“I can’t believe they’d come down to town and just flaunt it like that,” a second voice spoke up.

“It’s just how they are,” the first voice said. “Hillbillies are like that.”

“It’s so gross,” the second voice replied. “Look at those two. You can tell they’re twins.”

“They probably do some nasty things to their kids up there,” the first voice posited. “Probably start early, even.”

Tegan’s jaw set tightly at that statement. What was wrong with the people that lived in town? Why did they have all of these gross misconceptions about the people of the mountains? They were effectively neighbors, yet these people treated them like monsters. There was far worse behavior from the so called “normal” people than there was anyone one in the two hollows above.

“They probably do it with everything up there,” the second voice said. “People, animals, objects.”

“Yes,” the first voice… laughed? How was this funny? What was funny about saying such disparaging things about people that hadn’t done anything? “Those two look normal, though, for hillbillies.”

“The real screwed up ones probably don’t ever come down here so idiots can camp up there and get eaten.”

Tegan looked back at the computer screen. She noticed that Sara’s cursor sat still on the screen. Tegan assumed she must’ve been reading, until she heard a sniffle. Sara. Sara was crying.

“Sasa, it’s okay, just–”

“Let’s just go,” Sara interrupted, bolting up from her seat without signing out of her account and rushing out the door. Tegan watched on solemnly before getting up from her seat as well. She signed Sara’s email out and put her chair back before walking to the signup sheet and signing that Sara was done. She glanced at the two people that had been saying such hurtful things about them. A man and a woman. She shot them a hate filled stare, causing the two to recoil from her, before following Sara to the car.

“Sasa, it’s okay, come here,” she said softly as she reached her twin.

“No, Tegan, let’s just go home,” Sara countered, pushing away from Tegan’s embrace and wiping her eyes.

“We still have to go to the store,” Tegan replied, a look of hurt flashing on her face as Sara walked around the car to the passenger’s side.

“No, Tegan. No store,” Sara sobbed, as they both got in the vehicle. “I just wanna go home and die.”

“Don’t say that,” Tegan said sadly. “Those people were just assholes, like most townies are.”

“They were adults, Tegan,” Sara countered. “Grown ups. Older than us! And they still had the audacity to sit there and belittle us behind our backs, just like everyone of these goddamned people around this shitty town!”

“Sara–”

“Just take me home, Tegan!” Sara shouted as another sob racked her body. “Please.”

Tegan fell silent as she started up the car. She pulled out of the parking space and into the road in front of the library, turning away from the mountain, still.

“Tegan,” Sara said.

“We’ll be home soon,” Tegan replied. “But we need to take advantage of being in town right now. No telling when we’ll come back down.”

“I just want to go home, Tegan,” Sara whispered. “Please. I can’t deal with it right now.”

“You wanna wait in the car?” Tegan asked. “I can run in and out and you can stay in here if you want.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” Sara replied, sniffling. She wiped at her eyes again, hoping to rid them of tears before they arrived at the store. “Just… Don’t expect me to talk a lot.”

“That’s okay,” Tegan nodded. “I’m sorry I can’t make you feel better about it right now.”

“It’s just life,” Sara said, looking out the window. “Nothing new.”

*

“You okay?” Tegan asked as she and Sara arrived at their house. Sara had been virtually mute for the rest of their trip. Tegan made efforts to converse with her twin once they were on the way home, but for the most part, she was met with grunts.

“No.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“Sara… Those people down there, they don’t matter,” Tegan said softly, putting away the things they had bought. “I know I fumed the last time, but… It’s my turn to be soft and make you feel better.”

“Those people don’t matter?” Sara asked angrily. She walked over to the book she had left sitting on the table when they left. She picked the novel up and examined the cover. The Hotel New Hampshire. Those people didn’t matter, but someone like them had written this book, hadn’t he? Sara hadn’t quite finished it, but she was sure nothing good could happen at the end. She had the brief notion to heave the book across the room, letting it hit the wall and tumble to the ground. “Those people have said the sickest shit I’ve ever heard anyone say about us.”

“I know,” Tegan replied.

“I’ve never felt so worthless in my life,” Sara whispered. She set the book back down on the table where she had left it and sighed. “In all the things that townies have ever said or done to us, nothing has ever hurt me more than those things today.”

“I’m sorry they hurt you the way they did, Sara,” Tegan replied. She moved over to Sara’s side and tentatively reached for her twin. Sara stepped away. She didn’t want to be touched right now. It only served to remind her of the people from the library. She knew that she would regret doing so, however. She knew it would look to Tegan like she wanted nothing to do with her. “Sasa?”

“Just… don’t, okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I just…” Sara sighed again. What could she say? _I wish we weren’t related and we lived in town_? Yes. That would go over well. “I still love, you, okay? I’m not trying to say I don’t.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” Tegan grumbled, walking back into the kitchen.

Sara wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted her mother. Her mother always knew how to make her feel better. But she was a freak, just like she and Tegan were freaks. They were all freaks. She didn’t want to go back down the mountain ever again. She used to pride herself in being able to shrug off the “worst” the townsfolk had to offer, but she had no idea what they could really say.

She didn’t want to cry anymore. She didn’t feel like it and she didn’t want to waste the energy. She looked into the kitchen from where she was standing. Tegan wasn’t there. Either she had decided to go upstairs, or she had slipped out the back door. Either way, Sara was alone in this part of the house.

Why did she even entertain the thought of bringing a child into this world? Why had she even asked Tegan if she wanted to talk about it? It was the dumbest decision she had ever made, she assumed. What person subjects a child to hell if they already know what it’s like? What kind of person is so sick and twisted inside that they allow new life to endure the hardships that they had, knowing they would never get better? What sick and twisted individual still wanted to raise a kid with her twin sister, despite the harsh words of the people that knew nothing about them?

Pros and cons. What did it all even matter? If she and Tegan wanted children, really wanted children, then why should they even make a list of reasons to have them or not? You either wanted kids, or you didn’t. Her thoughts weren’t flowing properly. She wasn’t sure what she was thinking, really. Was she thinking about the people from the library, or was she thinking about kids? Was she thinking about Tegan, or was she thinking about something else?

She needed to find something to do, something to take her mind off of the trip. She wanted to read. But not the book she was currently reading. That meant having to reread an older one. Did she really want to do that, though? No. But maybe it would be good for her.

*

Sara looked up at the door as Tegan entered the bedroom. Sara had been sitting up in bed, reading an old book of hers that she had read some time ago. She wasn’t sure if she would continue reading it, but it had helped to make her feel better after everything that had happened today. Tegan removed her flannel shirt from her body and threw it in the floor.

“Ready for bed?” Sara asked. Tegan didn’t answer. Sara watched as Tegan continued to remove her clothes one by one. Sara closed her book and set it on the table at her side of the bed before standing up and undressing as her twin had done. Tegan slid into the bed, the covers cooling her nude form as she reached to turn her light off. Sara nodded to herself, walking over to the light switch and hitting it before getting into bed herself. “I guess you are.”

“If you want to have sex, then do it yourself,” Tegan bit, laying with her back facing Sara.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said softly, turning her own light off. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you like that.”

“No you shouldn’t have.”

“Tegan,” Sara replied.

“Eat me.”

“Y-You said you didn’t want to have sex,” Sara said hesitantly. She wasn’t sure it was okay to joke, but maybe it could help. She hoped it would.

Tegan snorted, trying to hold back her laughter. “I’m still mad at you.”

“W-Well maybe I can make it better,” Sara replied, sliding over and wrapping her arms around Tegan’s body.

“Why did you move away from me?” Tegan asked sadly. She flipped over in her twin’s embrace, turning to look her in the eyes. “Twice?”

“I’m sorry, Teetee,” Sara said, kissing Tegan’s nose. “I was being a bitch.”

“I understand that you were upset at those people,” Tegan said softly. “But please, next time, let me help you. That’s my job, as your sister, as your mam, to help you to feel better.”

“I know, Teetee,” Sara nodded. “That’s my job, too.”

“I love you, Sasa,” Tegan replied. “No matter what those people down in that town say or do, they can’t understand, they won’t understand, just how much I love you. I’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” Sara said, a small smile on her face. “I’d do anything for you. I love you, too.”

“Do you want to have sex tonight?” Tegan asked, running her hand up Sara’s outer thigh.

“Are you asking me?” Sara smiled seductively. “Or are you telling me?”

“I get you,” Tegan replied, smiling her own smile. She pushed Sara onto her back and climbed atop her, planting kisses all over her face, neck, and chest as she moved to rest on her hands. “I’m telling you.”

“Yes sir,” Sara said, biting her lip in anticipation.


	8. Research Purposes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, here's another chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far and continues to enjoy it. Please let me know what you think, everyone.

“You okay, baby?” Their mother asked from across the table in their childhood home. The twins had gone over to spend lunch with their mom and mam, something they hadn’t had a chance to do in a while. Sara was happy to visit her mothers. It was usually someone coming to their house anymore. But as she and Tegan conversed with their mothers, she got to thinking about the incident at the library again. She was okay now. She was. But it was still tough to think about. “You’re really quiet over there.”

“Hmm? Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine,” Sara replied, taking a sip of the coffee that her mam had started when the twins had arrived.

“What’s the matter, Sara?” Sonia asked, knowingly.

“Well…” Sara sighed, thinking about how to word what she was going to say. She didn’t want either of the other three to worry about her. “I was just thinking about what happened at the liberry the other day.”

“What happened at the liberry?” Tammy asked, looking between both her daughters.

“Just… Some people said some things,” Sara said.

“Some townies made her cry,” Tegan spoke up.

“Sara?” Sonia asked, worried. “Is that true?”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. “They said some really bad stuff this time.”

“Like what?” their mam asked.

“They implied that we do stuff with, well… just gross stuff, and that we eat people and that that’s the reason why the ‘normal’ ones of us go down to town, so the horrific and gruesome looking ones can stay here, and people in the town will get tricked into coming up the mountains, to their deaths,” Sara answered with a shiver.

“Sara, I’m sorry,” Sonia said softly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Sara replied. “I’m better now. I mean… It made me question if I wanted to have kids or not for a bit, but, I’m better now. I just got to thinking about it again since we were over.”

“And do you?” Tammy asked.

“What?”

“Do you want to have kids, or not?”

“Oh… Well, I think I’m leaning toward it,” Sara answered. She looked over to Tegan quickly, wondering what the information might mean to her. Tegan smiled briefly at the notion and wrapped her arm around Sara’s shoulders. Sara smiled at that. “But I’m not one hundred percent on anything yet.”

“Okay.” Tammy nodded her head, taking a sip of her own drink in front of her. She set her drink back down and reached her hand over, grabbing Sonia’s hand in her own. Sonia blushed and smiled at the gesture. The twins smiled as well.

“What was it like?” Sara asked, causing both of her mothers to look up. “When we were born? What was it like being new parents?”

“Oh, shoot,” Sonia smiled fondly at the memories the family had shared. “It was…”

“Wonderful,” Tammy said, finishing her wife’s sentence. “Having two babies to take care of like that. Watching you two grow up.”

“Was it hard?” Sara asked.

“Well, I mean, yeah,” Tammy replied. “When you’re a first time parent, hell yeah things are gonna be hard. We didn’t ever know what was the right amount to anything. Your mama and I coddled you quite a bit in those first few years.”

“You still coddle Tegan,” Sonia laughed.

“Mama!” Tegan shouted indignantly.

“Don’t listen to her, she coddles your sister,” Tammy defended.

“I do not,” Sonia countered.

“Yes you do,” Tammy replied. “You just don’t do it directly to her. It’s always when we’re home alone.”

“That’s not coddling.”

“Baby, you can call shit a shoebox and I’ll still know what it is.”

“Hey, guys, we were talking about us,” Tegan spoke up, laughing at her mothers. It wasn’t a serious argument they were having, she and Sara could both tell. It was just their mom and mam being themselves.

“Well, we had to spend some time in the hospital because you two were born prematurely since you’re twins,” Sonia answered.

“What was that like for you guys?” Sara asked.

“Scary,” Sonia admitted. Tammy rubbed her thumb across the back of her wife’s hand soothingly as they both remembered what it was like in the hospital. “I thought you would… I thought…”

“Your mama fell asleep in the nursery a lot,” Tammy spoke up. “She refused to leave your sides.”

“Did they put us in those little things?” Tegan asked.

“An incubator?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, they put you in one of them,” Tammy nodded. “They put you in the one together.”

“Together?” Sara asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Mmm-hmm,” Sonia hummed in response. “The nurse told me that there was a possibility that twins heal better when they’re put together like that.”

“Did it work?” Sara asked.

“Yeah,” Sonia smiled. “You girls were out of there before we knew it.”

“Did grandma and grandpa spoil us?” Tegan asked, looking to her mam.

“Everyone spoiled you,” Tammy laughed. “Me, your mama, my mom and dad, your daddy…”

“What about your mom and mam, mama?” Sara asked. “Did they spoil us?”

“Yeah, did grammy and grandma spoil us, too?” Tegan added.

“Shoot, they spoiled you the most,” Sonia replied. “Since they weren’t like your mam’s parents, and lived close to us, they were always doing something for you girls.”

“Your grammy was bad about it, too,” Tammy said. “She wouldn’t let anyone get on to you girls.”

“I wouldn’t mind going back to that philosophy,” Tegan laughed.

*

“Are you really leaning toward a yes?” Tegan asked as she and Sara walked back to their house after finishing lunch. She reached her hand out toward Sara, waiting for her twin to take it in her own.

“Kind of, yeah,” Sara replied, doing as Tegan had silently asked. Tegan drew Sara closer to her as they continued to walk. “Like I told mama and mammy, I don’t have a certainty about it yet, I’m just leaning that way. Why?”

“I was just wondering,” Tegan said, shaking her head.

“Tegan?”

“Yeah?”

“If I came to a decision that you didn’t come to yourself, would you let me know?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, I would,” Tegan replied. “But, I think that whatever you wanted, I would want, too.”

“So you would just go along with what I want?” Sara concluded.

“No.”

“Then how can you be sure that we would come to the same decision?” Sara asked, worriedly.

“Are you okay?” Tegan asked.

“I’m… I don’t know what I am,” Sara replied, shaking her head amusedly. “I’m crazy.”

“No, you’re not crazy,” Tegan said softly. She removed her hand from Sara’s and instead placed it around her shoulders. “You wanna go talk to someone else? We can go see Hayley and Courtney if you want.”

“What would that do?” Sara asked.

“Well, we could talk to them like we did mama and mammy,” Tegan replied. “See what being new mothers was like for them.”

“I mean… I guess,” Sara said, looking off.

“You could play with Emma this time,” Tegan suggested, smiling as she waited to see her sister’s reaction.

“We probably do need to go see them,” Sara said, smiling herself and biting her lip. “For research purposes.”

“Yes,” Tegan laughed, leading Sara past their house and on toward their cousins’ home.

*

“What a surprise,” Hayley said, smiling as she opened the door for her cousins. “What are you two doing here?”

“Sara wants to play with the baby,” Tegan replied, pointing over to her twin with her thumb.

“Well, I mean, aside from that,” Sara spoke up. “Tegan thought it would be a good idea if we came and talked to you and Courtney.”

“Oh yeah?” Hayley asked, stepping aside and letting the twins in. “What for?”

“Sara’s having a little crisis,” Tegan answered. Courtney walked into the living room with her daughter in her arms. She smiled to Tegan and Sara, greeting each other them with a hug.

“What kind of crisis?” Hayley asked.

“Well, Tegan and I have been trying to decide if we want kids, and I’ve been starting to question some things,” Sara replied. She looked over to the baby in her cousins arms and smiled, waving to the infant. “Hi, baby. Hi, Emma.”

“Sa…” Emma replied, smiling back to her.

“Oh, Tegan!” Sara said excitedly. “Did you see that? She smiled at me.”

“Yeah, babe, I saw,” Tegan laughed.

“So, what is it you guys wanna talk about?” Courtney asked.

“We just kind of want to know what it was like for you guys when you first had Emma,” Tegan answered. Hayley led the twins over to the couch, sitting down with them as Courtney set the baby down in her playpen before joining them.

“Well, it was amazing,” Courtney answered, sitting close to her wife. “We went from being just the two of us, to being a family just like that.”

“But, it’s not all goods,” Hayley added. “Like, having a baby is hard work. That’s something that I think a lot of people take for granted. They think, ‘Oh, I’m old enough. I know what to do,’ but it’s not that simple. You’re gonna panic a lot, whenever your baby just so much as make a sound, and you’re gonna worry.”

“Do you two regret it?” Tegan asked.

“No,” Hayley said, smiling to her wife and snuggling closer to her.

“We might’ve decided a little young, I’m not sure,” Courtney said honestly. “But we wouldn’t trade that baby over there for nothing.”

“Our mom and mam were young, too,” Sara spoke up. “Mammy was twenty-two and mama was twenty-one.”

“Yeah, that’s what my parents said when I told them we wanted to have a baby,” Hayley replied. “They said something about your mothers being so young.”

“Did your parents ever try to talk you out of it?” Tegan asked. The baby began to cry from her spot in the playpen, drawing everyone’s attention.

“I’ll get her,” Sara offered, standing up and walking over to the child. She picked Emma up in her arms and walked her over to the couch, sitting back in her seat with the baby standing in her lap. “I hope that’s okay with you guys.”

“Fine by me,” Courtney smiled. “Anyway, Tee, what did you say?”

“I asked if your parents tried to talk you guys out of having a baby,” Tegan repeated.

“My mom and dad were very against it,” Courtney answered. “They said that we had no idea what we were doing and that we were making a mistake.”

“My mom and dad didn’t really try to talk me out of it,” Hayley said. “They just asked a lot of the time, ‘Are you sure this is what you wanna do?’”

“Do you guys have to put in a lot of extra work?” Sara asked in a baby voice as she played with Emma. She laughed at herself, before shaking her head. “Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, we put in some extra work,” Courtney laughed. “I have to do all the normal stuff, crops and whatnot, then have to come in and help Hayley with the baby.”

“And I have to add the baby to my daily routine around the house,” Hayley nodded. “It’s, vacuum the floors, get the baby. Wash the clothes, get the baby. Start supper, get the baby. So on and so on.”

“Do you guys ever get tired?” Tegan asked.

“Yes,” Courtney answered immediately. The twins could tell that it wasn’t anything malicious or something to curse the baby. That was just how things went. When you had a child to take care of on top of work that you couldn’t shirk on, you tended to get tired.

“We need a break so bad,” Hayley joked. “As soon as someone offers to sit the baby, we’re out.”

“We’ll do it!” Sara said, jumping at the opportunity. The other three looked over to her in surprise and confusion.

“I-I’m just joking,” Hayley said, shaking her head. “We can’t ask that of you.”

“I… I uh…”

“Yeah, we’ll do it,” Tegan spoke up, wrapping her arm around Sara. “You guys deserve a break. Courtney, I know you work hard out there in the field. And Hayley, I know you put in just as much taking care of the house and the baby.”

“Guys, we can’t–”

“Then we’ll just take her,” Tegan interrupted jokingly. “You guys want, you can bring her by the house tomorrow and have a night to yourselves, just the two of you.”

“Tegan, Sara, I… I don’t know what to say,” Courtney replied.

“You wanna come stay with me and Teetee tomorrow?” Sara asked the baby playfully. “You wanna do that, Emma?”

The baby giggled in response, causing the four adults to smile.

“I think that’s a yes,” Hayley laughed. She looked to her wife questioningly. “You wanna do that, Court?”

“Well, the baby’s obviously fine with it,” Courtney replied. “And we could use some time together, just you and me.”

“Then it’s settled, I think,” Tegan said, looking over to Sara with a smile.

*

“Sorry about that with Hayley and Courtney earlier,” Sara apologized as she and Tegan settled into bed for the night. “I just kind of…”

“It’s fine,” Tegan replied. She brought Sara closer to her, their unclothed bodies helping to warm each other under the cool sheets. “It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah.” Sara smiled at the thought of getting to take care of a baby for a day. It wouldn’t be quite like having a child of her own with Tegan, but maybe it could give them some insight on what it could be like. “It will be fun.”

“Night, Sasa,” Tegan said softly, placing a kiss on Sara’s nose. “Love you.”

“Goodnight, Teetee,” Sara replied, snuggling into Tegan’s side. “Love you, too.”


	9. Babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody. Sorry about the long wait with this chapter. I had a hard time writing this one. I hope everyone's still interested in the story and continues to enjoy. Please let me know what you guys think.

Sara stared up at the ceiling above, listening to the sounds of the morning taking place around her. Any minute now, Hayley and Courtney would be coming over to drop off Emma for the twins to take care of for the day. Sara was excited, to say the least. She loved her young cousin, and was looking forward to seeing what taking care of a child with Tegan would be like. Maybe this would be it, and they would decide to go for it. Or maybe this would be a disaster, and they would decide that they weren’t ready, just as they had before.

Tegan was in the shower. She could hear the water through the walls with nothing to mask the sound. Sara bit her lip and smiled. Maybe she should get in with her sister. They wouldn’t have another chance later that day. They would be busy, after all.

 _I’m already naked_ , she thought with a giggle. _And I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be clean for when the baby gets here_.

*

“Whatcha doing, Sasa?” Tegan asked from behind the curtain of the shower as she heard Sara enter through the door. She held a bar of soap in her hand, not having scrubbed her body just yet.

“You got room in there for one more?” Sara asked.

“Mmm, I don’t know,” Tegan replied playfully. “I need lots of room to stretch and move around in the shower.”

“Well, I’m coming in anyway,” Sara joked before climbing into the shower.

“Ooh, taking charge, huh?” Tegan laughed as Sara stepped under the stream of water. “I like that in a woman.”

“And I like that in a mam,” Sara replied, turning around to place a kiss on Tegan’s lips.

“So, did you have an idea for this shower, or did you just want to shower?” Tegan asked.

“Sorry, babe, we’ve only got time for the shower,” Sara apologized, taking the soap from Tegan’s hand. “I can soap you up if you’re okay with that.”

“I’m okay with it, yeah,” Tegan replied as she stood still for Sara to lather the soap on her body. “I’m fine with just me standing under the water and then you standing under the water, too. I just like being in the shower with you. It’s…”

“Romantic,” Sara said, finishing her twin’s statement.

“Very,” Tegan smiled.

*

“Did Hayley and Courtney ever say what they were gonna do today?” Tegan asked as she and Sara descended the stairs after their shower.

“No,” Sara replied, running her fingers through her hair. “But I’m gonna go ahead and assume each other.”

“I’m serious,” Tegan laughed.

“Me, too,” Sara replied, shaking her head. “I mean, for the most part.”

“You want coffee?”

“Of course,” Sara giggled, watching as Tegan walked off into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee for her. Sara enjoyed coffee very much, but for some reason, there was something that made it taste so much better to know that it was made by Tegan.

“The baby can’t have any when she gets here,” Tegan called out jokingly.

“But she’s so cute,” Sara laughed. “How can I say no to that pudgy little face?”

“You’re cute and I tell you no all the time,” Tegan replied.

“Thank you?” Sara asked, laughing more.

“You’re welcome,” Tegan called out, laughing herself.

*

“Say bye-bye to mommy and mammy, Emma,” Sara said as she held Emma in her arms. Hayley and Courtney had just stopped by and dropped the baby off for the night, sticking around a bit to chat with Tegan and Sara first before heading off to enjoy their day.

“Ma,” Emma said, waving her arm up and down in an attempt to wave goodbye.

“Bye-bye, baby,” Hayley smiled. “We’ll be back to get you tomorrow.”

“You be good for your cousins, okay?” Courtney added.

“Tell her, ‘I will, mammy,’” Sara said in a baby voice.

“And you two don’t spoil her either, you hear?” Courtney said, looking to the twins.

“Sorry, Court, can’t hear you,” Tegan joked, ushering Sara back inside playfully. “You two have fun.”

“Welcome to our house, baby,” Sara said to the child in her arms, smiling down at her.

“Hey, babe,” Tegan spoke up, softly. “I gotta go out and check on the crops and stuff real quick, okay?”

“We don’t even have a baby for a full minute, and you’re already running off and leaving me with her,” Sara said jovially, before pulling Tegan closer to her by the shirt and kissing her quickly. “Hurry back so you don’t miss all the fun, okay, baby?”

“I’ll be back soon,” Tegan replied. She bit back a laugh as Emma reached her tiny hand up to play with a bit of her hair in her close proximity.

“Aw, Tegan, do you see?” Sara cooed excitedly.

“Kind of?” Tegan laughed. “I can’t see her very well, but I can feel–ow, ow, shit, shit, shit, let go, let go!”

“What, what’s wrong?” Sara asked, trying to pull away from Tegan in the commotion. Tegan moved with her.

“Sara! Stop moving,” Tegan said. “She’s pulling my hair. Make her stop.”

“Emma, no,” Sara scolded, reaching up for the baby’s fist with one hand. She tried to pry Emma’s hand open and free Tegan’s hair, but the task was proving hard with only one hand available to her. “Emma, let go!”

The baby didn’t listen, instead yanking at Tegan’s hair. “Ow. Cut it out you little sh–”

“Tegan Rain, don’t you dare cuss this baby.”

“Emma, baby, please let go,” Tegan sighed, rolling her eyes at Sara’s order.

“Don’t you sass me with your eyes,” Sara said, staring at her twin.

“Yes, baby,” Tegan replied, prying at Emma’s hand a little more before finally releasing herself. “There! Finally!”

“Okay, go before she does it again,” Sara said. Tegan moved away quickly and headed for the back door, waving to Sara and the baby.

“Tell Tegan have a nice day, Emma,” Sara said softly to the baby.

*

“Boucny, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy,” Tegan chanted as she bounced her little cousin up and down in her lap. Sara sat beside her, watching happily as Tegan played with the baby.

It felt good to Sara. She loved watching Tegan play with the baby. Something about it felt right to her. It was like her visions of having children with Tegan had come true in a way. Sure, it wasn’t their actual child, but it was close. Emma was related to them, as everyone in the hollows was. This was pretty close to being the real deal. Sara’s heart swelled at the thought.

She wondered if Tegan thought those things about her while she was the one holding the baby. She wondered if Tegan saw the things she saw. A family. Them, with a child of their own. Mom, mam, and baby. She hoped so.

Tegan lifted the baby up off of her lap once more, this time holding her in the air a bit. “Oh, come on down from there, Emma. Come on down from there, baby,” she cooed. Emma giggled in response, kicking her legs about in the air as she tried to make herself go down again. Tegan brought her down once more before lifting her again and repeating the process.

“Babe,” Sara whispered, leaning over to Tegan.

“Yeah?”

“I have to go to the bathroom real quick. Will you be okay with her by yourself like?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Tegan replied. Sara kissed Tegan’s cheek before getting up and heading up the stairs. Tegan turned back to the baby and lowered her to her lap again. “You having fun, baby?”

Emma giggled excitedly, reaching her arms up to the air. Tegan laughed at the sight. Clearly, the baby was trying to will herself back up. Tegan complied, lifting the infant above her head before bringing her back down. She started once to move her again, but a look crossed Emma’s face.

“What? What was that?” Tegan asked. The baby stayed silent for a moment before reaching for the ceiling again. “What did you do?”

It didn’t take long for Tegan to receive her answer. A smell hit her nostrils. A smell very much of a baby, but not at all on the pleasant side. Tegan started to panic. _No. No, no, no_. “You did not just shit,” she whispered, her eyes wide. Tegan stood up, frantically searching for the diaper bag that Emma’s mothers had left for her. She found it by the couch and lifted it up to the couch. She held the baby away from her with both arms as she scanned the room for something to set Emma on so she could change her. She didn’t know how to change a baby, though. What if she did it wrong? What if she just made a bigger mess than the one the baby had? Why did we agree to this? she asked herself.

“Tegan, what are you doing?” Sara asked from the bottom of the stairs.

“She pooped!” Tegan yelled.

“Well change her!” Sara replied, running over and grabbing a towel that Hayley and Courtney had packed. She spread the towel over one of the cushions of the couch and grabbed the baby from Tegan’s arms before going about changing her diaper.

“You’re a life saver, Sasa,” Tegan said, relieved.

“How exactly was standing in the middle of the room like that going to help?” Sara joked.

“I panicked,” Tegan replied, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “I don’t know how to change a baby.”

“Neither do I,” Sara replied, glancing back to Tegan quickly and then back to the baby. “But if we’re gonna have one, then you need to learn.”

“You don’t know how to change a diaper?” Tegan asked.

“No.”

“But… but you seem so natural.”

“I’m shaking on the inside,” Sara said. “But it has to be done and… and, well… if I was a mother, then I’d do just the same.”

“You’d be a good mother,” Tegan replied softly.

“Thank you,” Sara said, lifting the baby back up after putting on a new diaper. “You’d make a good mam.”

“I wouldn’t,” Tegan said timidly, blushing at her twins compliment. “But thank you.”

*

 _She’s going to sleep_ , Sara mouthed as she rocked the baby in her arms. She looked back down to the child, watching as her eyelids drooped again. Sara giggled to herself at the sight. This child, this pile of baby, was such a magical thing. She was nothing, and then, all at once, she was something. They all were. Her mother, her father, her mam, her aunts, her uncles, her cousins, all of them. She and Tegan, even, had started out as just nothing and became so much of something, that they needed to split apart and share that something between the two of them.

 _I could make this_ , she thought to herself. _I could have one of these grow inside me and then bring him or her into the world. I could do this_.

“I want one.”

“What was that?” Tegan asked from across the room as she picked up some of the toys that Emma had played with. She stood up from picking up a small set of of plastic keys and looked over to Sara questioningly.

“Oh, I uh…” Sara looked up to Tegan and then back down to the baby in her arms. She was fast asleep. _I said that out loud_ , she thought to herself in a small mixture of worry and glee. She looked back up to Tegan with a smile slowly forming. “I said, ‘I want one.’”

“What, a toy?” Tegan asked, holding the toy keys up with her finger through the hoop. “I mean, you’re kind of old for one, but if you wanna play, be my guest.”

“No, not a toy,” Sara laughed. She motioned to the baby with her head and lifted her arms slightly. “I want one of these.”

“A baby?” Tegan asked, putting the keys in a box with Emma’s other toys.

“Yes,” Sara whispered. She stood up slowly, so as to not wake the baby, and walked over to Tegan. “Look at her and tell me you can’t want one of these things.”

“Sara, she’s cute and all but, are you sure–”

Sara connected their lips quickly before looking Tegan in the eye. “I’m positive. This isn’t femotion. This is real. I’m ready.”

“You’re really ready?” Tegan asked softly.

“I don’t want to give her back,” Sara replied sadly. “This baby goes back to her mom and mam tomorrow and I can’t bare the thought of not having our own.”

“A baby’s a big step,” Tegan said. “It’s not gonna be easy all the time. We’ll have mom, and mam, and all the people here to help us, but the baby will be our responsibility most.”

“If you don’t want a baby, just tell me,” Sara said sadly, putting an infinitesimal distance between herself and Tegan. “Cause if we’re not on the same page, I need to know.”

“I want what you want.”

“No.” Sara shook her head angrily at her twin, backing away more. “That’s not an answer. Either you want to have a baby with me, or you don’t. I don’t have a say in your feelings.”

“Sara,” Tegan said softly, stepping forward. Sara stepped back again.

“Do you want a baby, or not?”

“Yes,” Tegan replied.

“How do I know you’re not just saying that?” Sara asked.

“You saw me with Emma today, right?” Tegan countered.

“Yes.”

“And I saw you with her,” Tegan said, stepping closer to her twin. “And I can’t speak for you, but every time I looked over and watched you hold her, or play with her, or feed her, I thought, ‘My god, this is what mam was talking about.’”

“What mam was talking about?” Sara asked, confused.

“When we were out hunting, I asked her how she and mama decided they wanted kids, and she said that they were at grandma and grandpa’s house, looking at old pictures of mam and dad, and mom turned to her and said, ‘I want these with you.’ and mam said that, it clicked to her then,” Tegan answered. “She said she loved mama, but she felt like there was something missing, and when mama told her she wanted kids, mam knew what that missing piece was.”

“It is,” Sara smiled, looking back down to the sleeping baby in her arms. “We’re pretty much complete, me and you, but…”

“A baby is the cherry on top,” Tegan replied.

“Yes.”

*

“I’m so excited,” Sara said as she carefully crawled into bed with the baby. “We’re gonna have a baby!”

“Well, we’re not set just yet,” Tegan replied, getting in the bed as well and trying not to disturb the sleeping child. “We still have to decide on who we want to be the father and then they have to agree to do it.”

“Well, I was thinking, maybe…”

“What?” Tegan asked.

“I was thinking maybe we could… ask… Robbie,” Sara replied nervously.

“Robbie?” Tegan asked, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “You want us to ask Rob?”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded.

“You’ve already decided, haven’t you?” Tegan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“On who you want to be the dad,” Tegan clarified. “You already decided on Rob, haven’t you?”

“Well, I mean, I just enjoy spending time with him,” Sara replied.

“So much so that you always worry about seeing him when we go over to Big Holler anymore?” Tegan asked.

“Well,” Sara sighed. “I guess it was also kind of like, preparing, just in case we decided we wanted kids, and then it wouldn’t be too weird to just ask, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess I can understand,” Tega replied. “So, Rob?”

“If you’re okay with that, Teetee,” Sara said softly. “I know you haven’t been too fond of him recently.”

“I’m not gonna be one hundred percent on anyone we choose,” Tegan answered, shaking her head. “They’re gonna have to… You’re gonna have to do… And I won’t get to… and… It’s gonna suck, regardless of the guy.”

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Sara offered sadly.

“I want to,” Tegan assured, smiling to her twin in the moonlight. “I want to have a baby with you.”

“Tegan–”

“Sara,” Tegan interrupted. “It’s okay.”

“Okay,” Sara replied, letting the subject go.

*

She stayed up for most of the night after their discussion, worrying. What if Tegan was just putting on a façade for her benefit? What if Tegan hated the idea of Sara being with someone that wasn’t her? What if this tore them apart? What if they wouldn’t be together after this? What if Sara had to go live in Big Holler with Rob and Tegan stayed in Little Holler and found another woman to take care of, one that didn’t want kids and wouldn’t subject her to the torture of knowing that she had sex with a man?

It was hell on her mind. No amount of good could make her feel better. There was always the nagging doubt that Tegan was just going along with what she wanted, instead of asserting her own ambitions. They baby would stir in her sleep, and Sara would feel better taking care of her and making sure she went back to sleep, but once she was “alone” the doubts came back to visit her. Tegan snored. The baby stirred. Sara thought.

She finally drifted off to a restless sleep, with dreams too unimportant to remember. Then morning came.


	10. Spending Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter of The Holler. This one took a little bit to get done, but I hope everyone's still enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys think.

Tegan looked down to the two figures in the bed. She had gotten up at her normal time without the help of her alarm clock. It would startle Emma, and so Tegan had turned it off the night before. Sara slept so peacefully with one hand limply resting over the baby’s body. Emma slept… well, like a baby.

Tegan smiled. It looked so… real, so natural. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear that this was their baby. This wasn’t, though. Tegan walked over to Sara’s side of the bed and kissed her sleeping lips before going about her morning routine. “Sleep tight, Sasa. Sweet dreams, baby.”

Emma would go home in a matter of hours and it would be back down to the two of them. Tegan and Sara.

And Rob.

Tegan shook at the thought. Maybe it was just the prospect of someone being with Sara. Maybe she didn’t want to think about it. She would only ever be with Sara. That was a fact of her life now. She had always been with Sara. There was no need to find someone else.

But Sara? She was going to be with… someone else. She wondered if any of the other mams had ever gone through what she was feeling. If any of them had only been with one woman and then had to sit back and “watch” as their lover went to be with a man for the sake of procreation. Did Courtney have to do that with Hayley? Did her mam have to do that with her mom?

What was one to do if the woman didn’t want to come back after that? What if she just decided she loved the man more and stayed with him? The child would be his, and so Tegan assumed that the man would have more right to it than the mam. But that would sting. A woman you loved so much you wanted to start a family with, running off to be with the man you both had agreed to ask for help? She would die.

She stepped outside into the cool morning air with the thoughts still in her mind. What if Sara fell in love? What if she wasn’t in love with Tegan like Tegan was with her? What if all this time, Sara assumed she was in love, but really it was just infatuation, and Rob was the real deal for her? What if it wasn’t Rob?

What if they chose another man, someone they hadn’t thought of yet, and it turned out that Sara loved him way more than she could ever love Tegan? What if it was Ted? What if it was another one of their cousins? Would that feel different? Would it hurt less than the prospect of Sara leaving her for Rob? It would probably hurt more.

She wiped at her eyes, not realizing tears had started to form in them, as she started her work for the day.

*

“I don’t want you to go home, baby,” Sara whispered to Emma as she fed the baby her breakfast. “It’s mean to say, but I don’t want to give you back.”

Sara spooned up some more of the baby food. “You see, Emma, Tegan and I, we want children, too. At least… Tegan says she does. I know I do,” Sara put the food in the baby’s mouth and removed the spoon. Some food dribbled out onto Emma’s bottom lip. Sara laughed and scooped the excess food back into the baby’s mouth before getting another spoonful. “I want to be a mama. But I don’t want to have to wait for the time it takes to have a baby. It’s selfish, but, I really love you, Emma. You’re my baby cousin, and I love you so much. And… maybe one day… I can give you a cousin of your own.”

“When your mama and mammy come get you, don’t hesitate to tell them if you wanna come back over here, okay?” Sara continued playfully. “They’re so lucky to have you.”

Sara went about her own routine, adding the baby to her chores as Hayley had described doing. It was hard. She had newfound respect for her cousin. This was something Hayley did all day, every day. She got up, and it was all baby all the time. And Sara… it was hard, but she had to admit, she loved it. She would have to talk to Hayley, though. She assumed it would be hard to do all those things while pregnant, too. That would probably be hell on her. But Tegan would help. She knew Tegan would help. That’s what mams were for. A mam helped her woman and a woman helped her mam.

Hayley. She and Courtney would be coming to get their daughter soon, and that would leave Sara and Tegan alone. No baby.

Baby. She and Tegan said they were going to have a baby. Maybe that would make her feel better about sending Emma home. She and Tegan were going to have a baby… maybe. She tried to put all the ill feelings away, the ones from the night before, as she went about her work.

*

Silence. The house was silent. Sara stared at the wall in front of her. No baby. Hayley and Courtney had come shortly after noon to pick up Emma, and now Sara sat alone in the house. Why did it feel so damn empty? They had spent five years together in their house without anyone else. Why now, did it feel like this house was too big for just the two of them?

Tegan was still outside. Her day was running long from all the breaks she had taken recently. Sara blamed herself for that. Tegan had to work late because Sara wanted to take care of Emma. Sara sighed and leaned her head back to rest on the couch.

No baby. No Tegan. Just loneliness.

*

“What are you doing?” Tegan laughed the next day as Sara stood around near her outside. Tegan had come out to work with the crops as she did every day, but today Sara just suddenly followed her outside.

“I wanna spend time with you, silly,” Sara replied, stepping closer to her twin. “After Emma went home yesterday, I got so lonely.”

“You’re so cute,” Tegan smiled, pulling Sara into a hug.

“I’m sorry I made you have to work late yesterday,” Sara offered softly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tegan replied. “I had fun taking care of a baby with you.”

“I had fun, too,” Sara said. “I can’t wait till we have our own.”

Tegan grew rigid at the mention of having a child of their own. She knew the implication. She told herself that she would try not to let it bother her so badly, but she couldn’t help herself. Sara and some man (Rob). “Yeah, it’ll be great…”

“You okay?” Sara asked, moving back to look at her twin.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tegan lied. “I was just thinking about having a kid of our own.”

“I know, it’s amazing,” Sara replied happily. “We can make one of those things.”

We can make one of those things.

The truth was, they couldn’t. One of them could (Sara) with the help of a man (Rob) from the other hollow, but the two of them would never be able to make one together. If one of them had a baby, then, yes, they would both genetically be the mother, but they would never make one together.

Tegan separated herself from Sara and continued her work. Sara stayed close by.

*

“Tegan?” Sara asked as Tegan finished her work outside. “Teetee?”

“Hmm?” Tegan asked, turning to her sister.

“Do you think we can go to Big Holler today?” Sara asked nervously, playing with her fingers.

“Big Holler?” Tegan replied. “What, you wanna go see daddy?”

“Well… no… I-I was thinking maybe I could um…” Sara stammered. She had it all planned out in her head while she was watching Tegan work. She had all the words. She wasn’t nervous then. But now? She was shaking. What if Tegan got mad knowing she wanted to go spend time with Rob? It’s not that she didn’t want to see their father as well, but she needed to spend time with Rob before asking “the question”. It would just be weird otherwise.

“You wanna go see Rob,” Tegan concluded before Sara could regain her resolve. Tegan sighed before continuing. “Yeah, sure.”

Tegan led Sara outside to her car, waiting for Sara to get in before she started the vehicle and drove toward the hollow on the other side of the trees.

*

“You sure you don’t wanna come with me, Tee?” Sara asked as they stood outside of their father’s home. Tegan looked at the building in front of them and shook her head.

“Nah, you go. I don’t have to watch you.”

“Tegan, I’m not gonna do anything with him, you know that, right?” Sara replied. “I’m just gonna hang out with him for a bit and get him used to me being around before I ask him to be our guy.”

“I know,” Tegan said, pulling Sara into a loose hug. “I haven’t seen daddy in a while, and I really wanna spend time with him. You don’t need me to be with you when you go see Rob. It would be too much, anyway.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded, kissing Tegan’s lips softly. “I’ll be over in an hour or so, okay?”

“You come back when you’re ready to come back, baby,” Tegan replied softly. “I’ll be here making sure daddy doesn’t get into any trouble.”

“Okay,” Sara laughed, seeming to lighten up with Tegan’s apparent jovial attitude. “I’ll be back soon. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Tegan smiled, watching as Sara walked off toward Ted and Rob’s house. Once Sara was out of view, Tegan dropped her smile. She was okay. She told herself that numerous times on the trip over here. That trip seemed so much longer than it usually did. Maybe she was driving slower than what she was used to. Maybe that was it. She walked slowly up to her father’s door and knocked softly.

The door swung open to reveal her father’s smiling face. That helped a bit. “Hey, baby. What brings you here?”

“Sara wanted to come over and see Rob, so I thought I’d come here and see you,” Tegan replied, wrapping her arms around her father. He felt like home. It was a weird feeling for her. Home was never where her father lived. It was a simple fact of living in the mountains the way they did. Her father’s home wasn’t her own. But today? Today he felt like home.

“Sara didn’t wanna come see me?” Stephen asked, forcing his voice to crack in a playful manner.

“She’ll be over soon,” Tegan laughed. Stephen stepped aside, letting his oldest daughter into the house before shutting the door behind her.

“Sorry, baby. Daddy ain’t got a lot to offer you,” he joked.

“You’re my daddy, daddy,” Tegan smiled, sitting on the couch. “You love me. That’s enough.”

“I do,” Stephen answered, sitting on the opposite end from Tegan. “And I love Sara, too.”

“Me, too,” Tegan said, her smile falling slightly.

“What’s that?” Stephen asked, tilting his head curiously. “What’d I say?”

“Nothing,” Tegan replied. “So.. How’s the farm?”

“Oh, you know, same old stuff,” her father said. “Shit grows. Shit doesn’t.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Tegan nodded. She looked around the house briefly. She wondered if her father ever got lonely by himself.

“Yeah, the house is a mess,” Stephen spoke up, snapping Tegan out of her thoughts. “Your sister will kill me when she gets here.”

Sara. “Yeah,” Tegan replied, forcing herself to laugh a little. “She rides my ass whenever I throw my shirt down on something.”

“Women,” Stephen joked. “I’m just playing, though. Don’t tell her I said that.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Tegan laughed, genuinely this time. Her father sure knew how to make her feel better, even when he didn’t know there was something bothering her.

*

“Tegan didn’t want to come with you?” Ted asked as Sara sat down on the couch with Rob. Ted threw a shirt on over his uncovered torso out of shyness and respect.

“She said she wanted to spend some time with daddy,” Sara replied, laughing internally at Ted’s gesture. “I’m gonna go over there in a bit, too, cause I ain’t seen him in a while.”

“That’s a shame she didn’t wanna come over,” Rob spoke up. “It’s always nice to see the both of you.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her that when I go over there,” Sara said.

“How’ve you been, Sare?” Rob asked.

“Good,” Sara smiled. “Tegan and I just sat for Hayley and Courtney yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah?” Rob replied. “How’d that go?”

“Great,” Sara laughed. “We had a lot of fun.”

“Was it hard?” Ted asked. “Taking care of a baby and doing your normal stuff?”

“It was,” Sara nodded. “But it wasn’t so bad.”

“Dude, Ted, you wanna sit down?” Rob asked. He moved over from his spot on the couch and onto the cushion beside Sara. His leg brushed up against hers.

“Nah, man, it’s fine,” Ted replied.

“Sit,” Rob said. “I already moved over and everything.”

“That’s not my fault,” Ted said, sitting in the seat previously occupied by his cousin. “Besides, who says Sara wants you right up against her?”

“Ah, she don’t mind, do you Sare?” Rob said, turning to her with a smile.

“It’s fine by me,” Sara smiled, looking away to hide her face. Was she blushing? No. No, she couldn’t be. She was just nervous, that was all. No one aside from Tegan had ever sat so close to her.

“See? Sara likes me.”

Ted muttered something that Sara couldn’t quite make out. Doofus? Go fish? Ooh, swish? She supposed it wasn’t important if Ted didn’t say it very loudly.

“Don’t pay him no mind,” Rob spoke up. “He’s just ornery because he hasn’t been able to spend time with his lady in a few days.”

“At least my lady is actually my lady,” Ted countered.

“Whatever, man,” Rob said, shaking his head.

“Did your mamas teach you boys to argue in front of company like that?” Sara joked, causing both men to shift around embarrassedly.

*

Tegan stared at the floor, lost in thought. She wondered if Sara would be coming soon. It had been two hours now. She said one. What if they were kissing? What if they were touching each other? What if they were–

“Tegan, you okay?” Stephen asked, snapping Tegan back to reality.

“Huh? Yeah… I’m fine,” Tegan lied.

“You don’t seem fine,” Stephen answered knowingly. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Tegan.”

“Sara’s taking a while, that’s all,” Tegan answered, turning away from her father’s glare.

“That’s all?” Stephen replied. “Well why don’t you just go over to Rob’s and see what she’s up to?”

“Nah, I don’t really… wanna… go over there.”

“Okay, talk to your daddy,” Stephen said softly. “What’s bothering you, baby?”

“Nothing, daddy.”

“Wrong answer,” Stephen replied. “What’s bothering you?”

Tegan sighed and closed her eyes. Rob. Rob was bothering her. As long as this whole “wanting a baby” thing was still happening, she would always be bothered by him. “Sara and I… we’re trying to… we’re trying to…”

“Oh,” Stephen said knowingly. He moved closer to Tegan’s side and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “You two are trying for that, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“And you don’t like the thought of Sara being with Rob to do it?”

“I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Well, Tegan,” Stephen said softly. “I’m sorry things have to be like that for you two.”

“You and me both,” Tegan mumbled.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but, things will be okay between you and your sister,” her dad offered.

“And how can you be so sure of that?” she asked.

“Because I have a sister, and she has a wife.” Stephen shrugged his shoulders as if what he was talking about was completely obvious. “And they’ve been happily married for a couple of decades now.”

“I’m sorry you had to live alone over here like that, daddy,” Tegan said softly. Her father was alone. She might end up like that herself, she wasn’t entirely sure. Her father lived alone, only seeing his daughters here and there. Sonia and Tammy got the kids. He got nothing.

“Ah, don’t worry about it, baby. I wasn’t ever lonely or nothing,” Stephen said. “I’ve had my fair share of girlfriends. And sometimes, when your mom and mam come over here, Sonia gives me a kiss.”

“What?”

“On the cheek girl, damn,” Stephen laughed. “You think we’d run around on your mam like that?”

“Oh.” Tegan felt relief wash through her at that. The news that her mother still kissed her father sometimes brought up the thoughts of Sara possibly falling in love with Rob all over again. “That’s sweet of her that she still does that.”

“Your mom and I love each other,” Stephen said softly. “We’re not in love, but we still love each other quite a bit.”

“I love you, daddy.”

“Love you, too, baby.”

*

“Okay, okay, but I really have to go now,” Sara laughed as Rob joked around. “Tegan’s waiting for me and I really wanna see my daddy.”

“Ah, come on,” Rob replied. “You can stay a couple more minutes, right?”

“Robbie, I have to go,” Sara said.

“Please?” Rob asked. “I don’t wanna sit here by myself.” Ted had received a call from his girlfriend half an hour before and went out to see her. It was only Sara and Rob in the house now.

“Robbie, I’m sorry,” Sara answered, standing up from her spot on the couch and walking toward the door. Rob followed her closely, opening the door for her himself. “I’ll see you again sometime. Bye, Robbie.”

“Bye, Sara,” Rob replied, pulling Sara into a soft hug. Sara’s eyes widened as she felt Rob place a kiss on her cheek. “Tell Tegan I said hi.”

“W-Will do,” Sara stammered before leaving.

 _What was that about?_ she asked herself as she walked back to her father’s house. _Robbie… just kissed me_.

Did it mean something? Or was it just a kiss between family? She kissed her father that way before. Maybe that’s all it was. Robbie was her cousin, so he had a right to do so. But would he have done it if Tegan had been with her? Probably not. Tegan wouldn’t have let him, anyway.

She tried to calm down as her father’s house drew closer. She didn’t want to cause Tegan to freak out when she got there. If she looked frazzled after spending time with Rob, then Tegan would probably try to do something to him over it.

 _Calm down, Sara_ , she told herself. _Think about things that you love_.

_Think about Tegan._

_Think about kissing Tegan._

_Think about making love to Tegan._

_Think about waking up next to Tegan._

_Think about Tegan._

“What are you all smiles about?” Stephen asked as he answered the door to Sara’s knock.

“I was just thinking about Tegan,” Sara replied, blushing.

“Well, she’ll be happy to know you’re here,” Stephen said, letting Sara in.

“Where is she?” Sara asked, noticing Tegan wasn’t in the room.

“She went to the bathroom. She’ll be back soon,” Stephen answered, sitting down on the couch. Sara sat down in the seat that Tegan had been sitting in before her arrival. “How was Rob’s?”

“It was fine,” Sara replied. “Sorry about blowing you off like that.”

“No skin off my nose, baby,” Stephen said, waving his hand. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“You finally made it?”

Sara turned toward the hallway, smiling as her eyes landed on Tegan. Tegan walked over to the couch, intending to sit on the empty cushion between Sara and their dad. Sara reached a hand out quickly and pulled Tegan into her lap, giving her a long, passionate kiss. “Sorry I took so long, baby.”

“Sara!” Tegan giggled, blushing as she knew their father was watching the display. “Daddy’s right there.”

“But I want your kissies,” Sara replied.

“Sasa wants kissies?” Tegan asked.

“Sasa want,” Sara nodded.

Tegan smiled seductively to her twin, slowly inching closer to her.

“Ahem!” Stephen cleared his throat, causing both of his daughters to jump away from each other. “Maybe you two should save that for when you get home?”

“Sorry, daddy,” Sara apologized, blushing furiously.

“Sorry.” Tegan added.


	11. Chopping Wood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, here's the new chapter of The Holler (finally, lol). Sorry for such a long delay on it. This one took me quite a bit to get worked out right. I hope everyone's still enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys think.

It had been three weeks since Sara started spending time with Rob. She had been over to see him several times since then. Tegan despised it. She rolled her eyes every time Sara asked is she could go see him. Sara would tell stories about her time with Rob. How funny he was, how smart he was, how hard he worked. Tegan wished each and every time to bang her head against a wall. She didn’t hate Rob, she couldn’t.

Maybe a little.

But she surely didn’t want to hear about him. Maybe Sara went on and on about those things because she thought they would be traits that the baby would inherit. Maybe that was why she smiled so widely when she spoke of him. Either way, Tegan didn’t care. All she wanted was a baby. She didn’t care if it was strong, or funny, or smart, or anything, as long as it was theirs.

She wished she could be the one to give Sara a child. She wished that they could do it together. That was a benefit of being like the people in Big Holler. They could have children with their partners by both contributing to the act. Over in their hollow, Little Holler, no such luck.

What good was being a mam if she couldn’t fulfill this one wish for her woman? What good was she?

Tegan stood from her crops and shook her head. There was no sense in berating herself for something she couldn’t control. She was a damn good mam. She provided so well for Sara. So what if she couldn’t make a baby with her? So what if Sara had to be with…

Rob.

She would feel that way about any man that was chosen, she was sure. It wasn’t something she specifically felt toward Rob. Sure, she thought maybe he was a little flirty with her sister, but that was just how he was. Right?

She walked into the house to hear Sara giggling. She smiled at the sound and tilted her head amusedly. What could Sara be giggling about? Did she have a cute little surprise waiting for her?

“I’m serious. Just picked me up over her shoulder and carried me out,” she heard Sara say. Oh. She was on the phone. Tegan knew that story. It was at Hayley and Courtney’s wedding. Alcohol was involved. Sara got a little rowdy and Tegan started to get embarrassed by the stories her twin was sharing, especially with their mom and mam there. Tegan hoisted Sara up over her shoulder and walked home. Sara playfully waved goodbye to everyone as they left. “Well I’m sure you could, Robbie.”

Robbie? Rob was on the phone? Tegan’s smile fell at that.

“I just saw you the other day,” Sara laughed into the phone. _Robbie’s so funny, Tegan_. “I like spending time with you, too.”

 _I like spending time with you, too, Robbie_ , Tegan mocked in her head, scowling. _Ha ha ha, you’re so funny and smart and handsome. Make a baby with me_.

“I’m pretty sure Ted’s getting tired of seeing me,” Sara joked. There was a brief pause as she listened to what Rob said on the other end before speaking up again. “Well of course you say that, you’re the one that asks me to come over.”

Tegan opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, opening it up and taking a large gulp. She walked out of the kitchen and toward the living room, standing in the doorway as Sara continued to talk.

“No I don’t wanna go fishing,” she declined playfully. “Because it’s too cold.”

“No, she doesn’t want to either.”

“I just know.”

“I just do.”

“Ugh, fine,” Sara sighed into the phone, looking to where her twin was standing. “Tegan, do you–”

“No, Tegan doesn’t want to go fishing,” Tegan interrupted bluntly.

“See, she said no,” Sara said to Rob over the phone. “Because only you and your crazy daddy think it’s smart to go out fishing this time of year.”

“Crazy is as crazy does.”

“I will not go fishing with you, Robbie, end of discussion.” Tegan rolled her eyes. She wished it was the end of the discussion. She was getting tired of hearing Robbie’s name. He wasn’t all that special. He was just lucky. Some lucky fool that Sara thought would make good babies. “Fine. Yeah. I’ll be over in a while. Tegan’s gotta get showered up and stuff and then she can take me. Yeah. Okay. Bye.”

“I’m doing what now?” Tegan asked, putting the cap back on her water bottle.

“Taking me over to see Robbie before he goes out fishing with his dad,” Sara replied, hitting end on the phone and setting it on the table. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“I just got in from working outside,” Tegan replied.

“Well, you can take your shower, it doesn’t have to be right this moment. I told Robbie you’d shower first,” Sara said.

“I have too much stuff to do,” Tegan said.

“What stuff?”

“I have to chop some wood for fire. I got it all just sitting outside past the crops.”

“But you just got in, you said.”

“I just thought about it.”

“Then you can take me after that,” Sara replied. “I don’t mind.”

“Rob will be fishing with his dad by then,” Tegan countered. “You’d have to wait to see if he was home yet.”

“That’s okay, too,” Sara answered. “Then we could spend a bit more time together.”

“Or you could keep your ass here for a change,” Tegan bit, squeezing her water bottle angrily.

“What?” Sara asked, shocked.

“You’ve been over there so much lately you might as well move in with him and Ted,” Tegan said.

“Tegan, I… This is what we were gonna do, remember?” Sara replied. “I said I was gonna spend a lot of time with Rob so he could get used to me being around before I just ask him to help us with making a baby.”

“And you’ve been over there, and been over there, and been over there,” Tegan said angrily. “Just fucking tell him already so he can stop this little obsession with you.”

“Obsession?” Sara asked.

“Yes.”

“Robbie is not obsessed with me,” Sara replied.

“Oh, please,” Tegan countered, rolling her eyes. “He’s always finding some fucking excuse to talk to you or see you. He’s fucking obsessed with you and it isn’t healthy. You need to set him straight.”

“What’s wrong? Why are you acting like this suddenly?” Sara asked.

“Because I’m tired of hearing about it!” Tegan shouted. “Day in and day out it’s, Robbie this, and Robbie that. I swear to God, I’m so fucking tired of hearing his fucking name.”

“So, what, you just hate him now?”

“Now? Now? News flash, Sara, I fucking hated him since day one of this shit,” Tegan spat. She said it. She hated him. It wasn’t fair to him, and it wasn’t deserved, but it was what she felt. He was taking Sara away from her. That earned her ire.

“So all of that stuff about you being okay was just a lie?” Sara asked, hurt. “You were just saying that so we could have baby?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Tegan replied. “You really think I wanna think about Rob sticking his d–”

“Oh my god, Tegan,” Sara huffed, shaking her head.

“I mean, since before we even came to a fucking decision, it’s been ‘Robbie this,’ ‘Robbie, that’ ‘You’re so funny, Robbie, how’s about you and me head up to your room and bump uglies for a bit. Maybe we’ll get lucky and I won’t get pregnant yet and we can do it some more.’”

“Excuse me?” Sara asked angrily, her jaw set tight.

“What’s the matter, a little too real?” Tegan taunted.

“What is that? Where is that coming from?”

“You tell me.”

“Are you calling me a whore?” Sara asked.

“No. Why would I be saying that?” Tegan replied sarcastically. “‘Let me go spend time with some dude I wanna fuck instead of my wife.’ No one said whore.”

“I don’t have to sit here and put up with this shit,” Sara said, standing up. “I’m going over to Big Holler to see Rob. You call me when you’re ready to apologize.”

“No you’re not,” Tegan countered.

“E-Excuse me?” Sara replied. “I’m not?”

“That’s right, you heard me.”

“And why exactly should I listen to you?” Sara shouted.

“Because I’m the mam and what I say goes!” Tegan screamed, throwing her almost forgotten water bottle to the wall. “Now sit your ass down and stay there!”

“You don’t own me, Tegan,” Sara bit. “I’m a grown-ass-woman, I can do what I want.”

“No you won’t,” Tegan replied. “I get full say in what goes on in this house.”

“Whatever,” Sara said, rolling her eyes. “Go chop your fucking wood. I’m going out.”

Tegan started to speak up again, ready to continue the argument, but she was stopped by the slamming of the door. She shook her head and headed back outside, herself. She walked to the shed and found her axe, carrying it out to the pile of loose wood that had collected beyond her crops.

*

Sara stepped into her mom and mam’s house after quickly knocking on the door first.

“Oh, Sara, what brings you here, sweetie?” Sonia asked, surprised to see her youngest daughter without having been told beforehand.

“I uh… I need to see mam,” Sara replied, looking around the house. “Where is she?”

“She’s outside working, why?” Sonia answered.

“I just need to talk to her,” Sara said, walking toward the back door. “Is it okay if I just go out?”

“Sure, I guess,” Sonia said, watching confusedly as her daughter walked out the door.

“Mam?” Sara asked as she stepped outside. “Mam?”

“Oh, Sara, I wasn’t expecting you,” Tammy smiled, standing up from her crops and waving to her child. “What’s up?’

“Can you do me a favor?” Sara asked.

“Sure thing,” Tammy replied, wiping the sweat from her brow. “What do you need?”

“Can you take me to see Robbie?” Sara asked.

“Why can’t Tegan take you?” Tammy answered with a question of her own.

“She um… she said she wouldn’t,” Sara replied.

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know,” Sara said, letting her exasperation from the argument out. “I really don’t. She just… all of a sudden just started getting pissy about me spending time with Robbie, and… I don’t know.”

“Robbie’s the man you guys chose, right?” Tammy asked.

“Sort of,” Sara replied. “I picked. I don’t think Tegan cared to pick at all. She just kept telling me she was okay, but, apparently not.”

“What’s she doing right now?”

“Chopping wood.”

“Why don’t you just go see Rob by yourself?” Tammy asked. “You know, just walk over or take the car?”

“Tegan said I wasn’t allowed to.”

“Not allowed?”

“She said she’s the mam and what she says go,” Sara answered, shaking her head. “Pulled out shit like that.”

“Alright,” Tammy sighed, looking out at her crops. “You head on over to your house and I’ll go and have a little talk with your sister.”

“Okay,” Sara replied. “Thank you, mammy.”

“Anything, baby.”

*

Tegan maneuvered the axe out of the stump as she sliced another piece of wood in half. She lifted the tool onto her shoulder and threw the two pieces of wood into the pile of it’s chopped brethren before setting another piece onto the stump. She lifted the axe high above her head and brought it down quickly, severing the chunk of wood just as she had done all the times before.

She was mad. She was mad at everything. At Sara. At Rob. At her mom, her mam, her dad, her cousins, her hollow, her dad’s hollow, her circumstances, her life… herself.

She set another block of wood on the stump in front of her and readied her axe.

“Tegan Rain, put that axe down and tell me what the hell is wrong with you!” Tammy’s voice rang out sternly followed by the slamming of the back door. Tegan shook her head and set the axe down, turning around to face her mam.

“Nothing’s wrong, mam,” she said.

“Horse shit,” Tammy spat. “You mind telling me what crawled up your ass?”

“Nothing crawled up my ass, mam,” Tegan said. “You’re the one that came to my house and started yelling at me.”

“Nuh-uh, don’t you take that tone with me,” Tammy scolded. “You may be grown, but I’m still your mam, and I’ll whip your butt red as clay right here, do you hear me?”

“Yes sir,” Tegan replied dejectedly.

“Now what’s this I hear about you telling Sara she can’t go see Rob?”

“Oh, that,” Tegan said. “She’s been spending too much time with him, that’s all.”

“So you told her that she wasn’t allowed to go and that what you said goes because you’re the mam?” Tammy asked angrily.

“I might’ve… said… that,” Tegan mumbled.

“Tegan Rain Quin, I am so disappointed in you,” Tammy said, shaking her head in exasperation. “I thought your mama and I raised you better than that.”

“But she–”

“No buts,” Tammy interrupted.

“But she–”

“What did I say?”

“No buts, sir.”

“Now why would you want to forbid your sister from seeing the man you chose?” Tammy asked.

“I didn’t choose him,” Tegan replied bitterly. “Sara chose him all on her own.”

“And?”

“I don’t like him being close to her.”

“Tegan,” Tammy sighed, shaking her head. “Your wife wants a baby, wants to start a family with you. Why does it matter that she needs Rob’s help with that?”

“Because,” Tegan said softly.

“Because?”

Tegan sighed and looked back down to her feet. “What was mom like when you two were trying to have us?”

“She spent a few days with your father before she asked him the question,” Tammy replied. “Why?”

“Did you ever get jealous?”

“What?”

“Did you ever get jealous of the way mom was with dad before she had us?” Tegan repeated.

“Well, yeah, of course,” Tammy replied softly. “That’s just how it goes with us. You don’t… You don’t get to contribute to something with someone you love more than anything else, but…”

“But?” Tegan asked.

“Well, your mom wanted Stephen to be your father so that I could be closer related to the two of you,“ Tammy continued. “And after I sat back and thought on it some, I just… I was happier at the thought of having children with Sonia than I was jealous at the thought of her and my brother having to make it happen.”

Tegan stood silently, letting the information her mam had relayed to her sink in. Sara wanted a baby with her. She wanted a baby with Sara. Maybe… that was all that mattered.

“Tegan,” Tammy spoke up. “Sara loves you more than anything in the world, and if you love her just the same, then it doesn’t matter who has to be the father of your child. All that matters is that you two are taking that next step and having kids.”

“I guess so,” Tegan replied, looking up to her mam. “I guess I’m a lucky mam if Sara loves me that much.”

“Damn straight,” Tammy smiled. “Okay now?”

“Yeah,” Tegan said, nodding her head. “Could you um… could you send Sara out here?”

“Sure thing, baby,” Tammy replied. She walked back toward the house, and disappeared through the door. Tegan waited for a few seconds before Sara walked out and over to her, slowly.

“You gonna yell at me some more?” she asked.

“Come here, baby,” Tegan said softly, holding her arms out. Sara stepped over to her and returned her embrace. “Mam yelled at me.”

“I figured as much,” Sara replied.

“You really want Rob to be the man?” Tegan asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Sara asked, incredulously.

“Okay,” Tegan repeated. “Look, Sara, I’m not gonna lie to you, alright? I hate, **hate** , the thought of you and some man getting together to give us a baby. It doesn’t matter who it is, Rob, Ted, dad, any of them. I’m always going to hate it.”

“Ew, Tegan,” Sara groaned, moving away. “Dad? Really?”

“Sorry.” Tegan laughed at the irony of Sara’s disapproval. Sure, she didn’t like the thought either, but the irony was not lost on her. “The point is, no matter who the man is, I’m always going to be a little jealous. You’re my wife.”

“You’re really okay with this?” Sara asked. “For real this time?”

“For real this time,” Tegan answered. “Forgive me?”

“Yeah,” Sara replied. “Although, I guess I could’ve spent a little less time with Robbie and made room for you, too.”

“It’s okay,” Tegan said.

“So, Robbie?”

“I guess so, yeah,” Tegan answered.

“And you won’t get mad anymore?” Sara asked.

“No guarantees,” Tegan replied. “I’m still just a mam, after all.”

“Fair enough,” Sara giggled. “You don’t mind taking me over there after you get done with the wood and your shower?”

“Our shower.”

“Huh?”

“Our shower,” Tegan repeated. “Maybe it’ll help me feel better if you and I still do romantic stuff when you’re not spending time with Rob.”

“I like the sound of that,” Sara smiled. “And I promise, Teetee, only a few more visits with Robbie before I ask him, okay?”

“That’s fine, too,” Tegan replied, picking her axe back up. “You go on inside and I’ll try not to be too long.”

“Yes sir,” Sara said, heading back inside as Tegan resumed chopping wood.


	12. Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone, here's another chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone's still enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys think.

“So what are you gonna do when we get over to Big Holler?” Sara asked as she and Tegan descended the stairs together after their shower.

“Well, first you gotta call and see if Rob’s home or not,” Tegan replied, toweling her hair.

“Oh, shoot, you’re right,” Sara said, snapping her fingers. She rushed down the rest of the stairs and grabbed the phone, dialing Rob and Ted’s number. Tegan watched on from the last step, still ruffling her hair with the towel she had come out of the bathroom with. Sara looked over and caught her twin’s eye, waving over flirtatiously as she waited for an answer. Tegan bit her lip and waved back.

“Hi, Ted,” Sara spoke into the phone. Tegan nodded her head and walked into the kitchen, letting Sara have her privacy. “Is Robbie home?”

“Not just yet, no,” Ted replied. “He should be back soon, though. Why, you wanna see him?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Sara answered.

“What’s the deal with you guys?” Ted asked, catching Sara off guard. Did he suspect Sara had a motive for wanting to be around Robbie as of late? Did he know what she and Tegan were planning? “Are you two dating, or what?”

“T-Ted…”

“Does that mean you and Tegan aren’t together anymore?” Ted continued. “Cause you guys made a really cute couple. Not like, to sound like a perv or nothing, just… You know, you guys were so in love and it kind of made me hopeful that I could have that with someone and I think I’ve gotten there now.”

“Ted,” Sara began. “Teddy, that’s sweet that you felt those things about me and Tegan, that you feel those things. Tegan and I are still together, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh, okay,” Ted replied. “So, what’s the deal with you and Rob, then? You and Tee have like, a one person exception kind of thing going on?”

“Ew, Ted, no!” Sara grimaced. “Gross. Why would you think that?”

“Sorry,” Ted laughed. “It’s just, you and Rob have been spending lots of time together. I figured there was some sort of something between you two.”

“You were just hoping that me and Tegan did have a one person exception thing so you could get with her, huh?” Sara teased. “You got a little crush on my sister, Ted?”

“Ha ha, no, not anymore,” Ted replied. “You gonna stop beating around the bush and answer my question finally?”

“Not anymore?” Sara asked, shocked. “What do you mean ‘anymore’?”

“Nuh-uh,” Ted chuckled. “You finally give me an answer and then I’ll talk.”

“Fine,” Sara sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. “Robbie and I aren’t anything. Tegan… Me and Tegan are trying to have… we’re trying to have a baby, and Robbie’s our guy.”

“Oh, holy shit!” Ted exclaimed. “That’s pretty awesome. Congratulations, Sare.”

“Thanks, Teddy,” Sara giggled. “But you can’t tell Robbie. I wanna be the one to tell him, but I’m trying to get him used to me being around before I just drop the bomb on him, okay?”

“Hey, your secret’s safe with me,” Ted replied.

“Good. Now, tell me about that crush.”

“I’ll tell you when you and Tegan get here, how about that?” Ted answered. “Because I know you and I know you’ll just have me retell it for her.”

“I wasn’t gonna do that,” Sara joked. “But okay. We’ll be over in a bit, I guess.”

“Okay. I’ll be here,” Ted said. “See you guys then. Bye, Sara.”

“Bye, Teddy,” Sara replied, waiting for the sound of her cousin hanging up before she pressed end on the phone and set it back down.

Tegan started to walk back into the room once she heard the conversation reach an end. She threw her towel onto the couch and walked over to Sara, wrapping her arms around her twin’s hips.

“What’s the word?” she asked.

“Okay, first of all, pick that towel up and put it where it goes for the last time,” Sara replied, playfully swatting Tegan’s arm. “And second, Robbie’s not home yet, but Ted said he will be soon, so we can go over there and hang out with Teddy for a bit.”

“Okay, sure,” Tegan replied, connecting their lips briefly. “Oh, what was that I heard about a crush?”

“Tegan Quin, were you eavesdropping?” Sara accused jokingly.

“I can hear you in the kitchen without much trouble,” Tegan laughed. “You said crush twice. What’s the deal?”

“You’ll find out when we get to Robbie and Ted’s,” Sara replied, removing Tegan’s hands from her hips and leading her out the door.

*

“Bullshit!” Tegan exclaimed. The twins had made their way over to their cousins’ house and were awaiting Rob’s arrival. Ted had just revealed his old crush to Tegan.

“I shit you not,” Ted laughed. “I really did have a crush on you.”

“That’s so cute!” Tegan squealed. “When was this? How long was it?”

“Well, we were…” Ted blew air out as he thought back to the time. “I’m not sure exactly, but we were teenagers still.”

“So it wasn’t that long ago,” Tegan replied.

“Nope.”

“How long did you have a crush on her for?” Sara spoke up.

“I don’t know, like… Maybe a year.”

“Holy shit, a year?” Tegan asked incredulously. “And neither of us ever found out until now?”

“You guys didn’t know to look,” Ted replied with a shrug. “And I never told anyone until after it passed.”

“How come you never told me?” Tegan asked softly.

“What point was there?” Ted answered. “You were gay, I was a guy. Nothing different would’ve come from it.”

“You could’ve gotten over me quicker,” Tegan replied.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Ted said. “You and Sara were officially together at that time anyway.”

“Well I think it’s sweet that you felt that way about me,” Tegan said. “Now come here and give me a kiss.”

“Funny,” Ted joked.

“No, I’m serious. Come on,” Tegan replied.

“Tegan,” Ted blushed.

“Come on, Teddy,” Sara spoke up again, laughing. “It’s just a quick little kiss. You never got to when you wanted to.”

“You guys are weird.”

“Quick peck, one, two, three,” Tegan urged.

“Like this,” Sara added, pecking her lips to Tegan’s swiftly. “Done.”

“I have a girlfriend!” Ted replied.

“And I have a wife,” Tegan laughed. “Now come on, before I go offer it to some other dude that didn’t have a crush on me.”

“What is this?” Ted asked, laughing as well. “You two just get your jollies from messing with me or something?”

“Offer of a lifetime, Ted,” Tegan teased.

“No.”

“Going once.”

“No.”

“Twice.”

“Fine!” Ted yelled, walking over to his cousin and placing a quick kiss on her lips like Sara had done before. “There, happy?”

“You **love** me,” Tegan teased some more.

“I hate you!” Ted said, rolling his eyes.

“He **loves** me, Sasa,” Tegan continued, turning to Sara. “You’d better watch out. You got competition now.”

“Oh, no,” Sara laughed. “I might actually lose this one.”

“I’m going to my room,” Ted announced exasperatedly.

“Ooh, you hear that, Tee?” Sara joked. “That kiss did a number on him.”

“Fuck!” Ted yelled, laughing along with his cousins. “Is there anything that’s safe to say?”

“No,” Tegan chuckled. “You’re trapped.”

“In a little Quin cage,” Sara added.

“Could be worse, I suppose,” Ted replied, smiling. “You guys done now?”

“Maybe,” Tegan said. “For now at least.”

“Ooh, I feel so safe,” Ted joked.

*

“They did what?” Rob asked, laughing loudly as his cousins filled him in on the previous events of Ted revealing his crush to the twins.

“They ganged up on me, that’s what they did,” Ted replied jovially as he got up from his seat in the living room and walked toward the kitchen. “Peer pressure and all that shit.”

“He liked it, Rob,” Tegan teased. “I swear there was tongue.”

“Oh my god, you’re so full of yourself,” Ted laughed. There was a brief clanking sound as he rummaged through the fridge quickly. “Anybody– That’s not Tegan– want a beer?”

“Hell yeah, man,” Rob cheered.

“I’ll take one,” Sara spoke up.

“Oh, so your crush doesn’t get one?” Tegan joked.

“Don’t worry, baby, we can share mine,” Sara smiled, kissing Tegan’s lips quickly. Unbeknownst to the twins, Rob turned away uncomfortably at their interaction.

“Well, Tee, you’re lucky I’m a good cousin,” Ted announced as he returned to the living room with four bottles in his hands. “Looks like I found a beer with your name on it.”

“You mean I’m lucky you have a crush on me and want to make me happy,” Tegan teased as she accepted the bottle that was handed to her.

“You’re gonna get me in trouble with my girlfriend with all that crush stuff,” Ted smiled.

“Then you can get me in trouble with Sara. Call it even,” Tegan replied, shrugging her shoulders before taking a long drink of her beverage.

“Excuse me?” Sara asked, staring at her twin.

“See? Boom, even,” Tegan joked, causing the other three to laugh along with her.

 _This is nice_ , Sara thought to herself as she watched Tegan carry on a conversation with their cousins. _Tegan is getting along with Robbie_. It was a wonderful feeling, to know that Tegan was putting forth an effort. She couldn’t be prouder of Tegan. She felt things were finally starting to fall in place. She was certain that now, it wouldn’t be long before they could bring their own little bundle of joy home and start a new chapter of their lives.

“So, I’ve always been curious,” she heard Rob start. “If the women in Little Holler that do all the hard labor are called mams, and the mothers that didn’t give birth to the children in Little Holler are also called mams, how do you guys keep from getting confused?”

“It’s different when you live there,” Tegan chuckled. “There’s this unexplainable thing that just like… we know, you know? Like, once you’ve been around it for a while, you’ll start to understand what people mean when they say ‘mam’.”

“Okay, okay,” Rob nodded, taking a swig of his own drink. “And, when it comes to terms like mother, what do you have for the mam then?”

“Technically we’re supposed to use mather. Like father with an m,” Sara spoke up. “But it’s grown outdated. We usually say mothers to refer to both.”

“Weird,” Rob replied.

“How do you guys know if someone will be a mam or a woman?” Ted asked.

“I don’t know,” Tegan answered with a shrug. “I’m not sure how it really works. I suppose we’ll learn when–”

“One day,” Sara butted in, glaring at Tegan when she turned to her to complain. “We’ll learn one day.”

“Yeah…” Tegan said, sending her own glare to Sara before turning back to her cousins. “I think that’s another one of those things that can’t be explained. Just like, something you know, maybe.”

“Did you guys ever miss your dad?” Rob asked.

“Dude,” Ted warned, slapping Rob’s shoulder.

“No, it’s okay, Ted,” Tegan replied. “I mean, in a way, we did.”

“Daddy was always just right here,” Sara added, sipping her drink. “But it was kind of hard to know that he was ours, but he didn’t live with us like mama and mammy. I remember there were times when something would happen around the house and I’d wanna run and tell daddy about it, but, he wasn’t there.”

“That sounds really sad,” Rob answered. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Sara replied.

“Yeah,” Tegan said, this time adding to Sara’s statement. “In a way, we had three parents. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I love my daddy, and I love my mama, and I love my mammy.”

“Yeah,” Sara smiled. “We were lucky kids.”

“What happens if someone has a boy?” Rob asked. “Like, if a woman gets pregnant and she and her mam have the kid, and the kid is a boy, what happens to him?”

“Well,” Sara began. “When a boy is born, the dad moves into Little Holler for a little bit, and he raises the baby with the mom and mam until a certain amount of time has passed, and then he comes back here with his son.”

“The mom and mam don’t get to keep him?”

“A boy would feel out of place in our holler,” Sara replied. “He’d need to live here, where other boys his age would be.”

“That must hurt,” Rob said. “Wanting a baby so bad and then just losing it like that.”

“I imagine it’s heartbreaking, yeah,” Sara nodded. “But I think that’s something that you accept going into it.”

“Our aunts, Leslie and Sheryl, had a boy,” Tegan spoke up. “You know, Connor?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rob and Ted replied in unison.

“They seemed really happy, still,” Tegan continued. “Mama and mammy said they would go on and on about how sweet of a boy Connor was and all that while he was growing up.”

“I’m not sure what they were like at first, when he and his daddy moved here,” Sara said. “But they’re pretty much a normal mom and mam.”

“Okay, now that’s enough questions about Little Holler,” Tegan joked, finishing off her drink. “Teddy, baby, got another?”

“Who has the crush now?” Ted joked before standing up from his seat and retrieving another beer for Tegan.

“Me, on Sara,” Tegan called out, laughing at her own joke.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Sara smiled. “I has a crush on you too, Teetee.”

“Aw.”

Again, Rob looked away from the twins, and again, they didn’t notice.


	13. Cousin Rob

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie dokie everyone. Here's a new chapter for The Holler. This one took a little while to figure out, but I finally got it. I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story. Let me know what you think.

“Are you sure about this?” Tegan asked as she walked into the house after finishing working out in the field with Sara following close behind her.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Sara replied, shutting the door behind them. “I think Robbie’s gotten used to me being around now.”

“Okay,” Tegan said, accepting Sara’s choice. Sara was ready to ask Rob if he would like to help her and Tegan in having a child. She had been spending more than enough time with him, and she felt like it was a good time to ask. “Just let me head up and shower, and I’ll take you over to see him, okay?”

“What happened to that ‘our shower’ stuff?” Sara asked playfully.

“Okay, let us get showered, and then I’ll take you over there,” Tegan smiled, grabbing Sara’s hand and leading her up the stairs.

*

Tegan pulled the car up in front of their father’s house, shutting the engine off and getting out. She walked around the car to Sara’s door and opened it for her, placing a quick kiss on her twin’s lips.

“You want me to go with you?” Tegan asked. “I can run up and tell daddy that I’ll be right back and leave the car here.”

“No, that’s okay,” Sara replied. She reached her hand out and touched one of Tegan’s arms softly. “This is something I need to do alone. I owe it to Robbie to give him one on one time for this.”

“Okay,” Tegan said, nodding her head. “You run into trouble, you come get me, okay baby?”

“I love you,” Sara smiled, kissing Tegan’s lips again.

“Love you, too,” Tegan replied. “Good luck.”

Sara waited by the car as Tegan turned around and headed up the walkway to their father’s house. Once Tegan had made it to the door, Sara turned on and left. She walked toward the house she had become so familiar with recently.

What if it’s the last time? she asked herself as an unknown fear set in. _What if Robbie doesn’t want to talk to me anymore?_

She slowed her walk as she approached the building. Rob’s truck was sitting out front, meaning he was most definitely home. In a matter of minutes, she would have her answer. If it was yes, then that meant that she and Tegan would be on their way to starting a family. If it was a no, then she wasn’t sure what would happen. Maybe she would give up on the thought of having kids altogether. Maybe she could find another man. Maybe Ted would agree to it. She was almost certain he wouldn’t, but then again, anything was possible.

Sara tried to steady her nerves as she approached the door. _Just knock, Sara. Just knock and ask Robbie to come with you. All you gotta do_. She lifted her hand and tapped on the wood of the door.

 _Why didn’t I tell Tegan to come with me?_ She asked herself as the door opened.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” Rob smiled as he came face to face with his cousin.

“That’s sweet, Robbie,” Sara replied, ducking her head shyly. “Would you um… would you like to come with me for a little bit?”

“Sure,” Rob answered. “Where to?”

“Somewhere um,” Sara sighed, looking up to meet her cousin’s eyes. “Somewhere where we can be alone.”

“Oh,” Rob said, nodding his head. He looked back over his shoulder and called back to Ted who was off in a part of the house that Sara couldn’t see from where she stood. “Hey, Ted! I’m going out for a bit!”

“You still gotta fix the tractor when you get back!” Ted replied.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rob said, shaking his head good naturedly as she stepped outside and shut the door behind him and motioning toward Sara. “Lead the way.”

*

“You nervous?” Stephen asked his daughter as he returned to the living room from the kitchen. Tegan had been bouncing her leg continuously since she had been seated on the couch.

“Does it show?” she laughed, stopping herself for a few seconds before she inevitably started up once again.

“Just a little,” Stephen joked. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Tegan. You’ll see.”

“I uh… Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

“I think Rob actually likes Sara,” Tegan replied. “And I think Sara underestimates how he feels for her, and so she thinks the situation isn’t as bad as it really is.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Tegan continued. “I’m just… I’m scared that Sara’s gonna get hurt, and… I won’t be able to do anything to stop it.”

“Well, Tee,” Stephen said, taking a pause to in the chair across from the couch. “Sara’s a big girl, and she can make her own decisions. Now, people don’t always make the best decisions, but, as a mam, you have to support her and… If your sister falls, baby, pick her up.”

“I’ll try, daddy.”

*

“It’s beautiful out here,” Sara noted as she and Rob came up to a small pond beyond the trees. “Why don’t you ever come fishing here?”

“The fish don’t bite here,” Rob replied. “You could cast out a thousand times and nine hundred ninety-nine times, you’ll get nothing.”

“So you guys have this pond for nothing?” Sara asked.

“I guess, so, yeah,” Rob answered.

The two sat down on the bank, making sure the ground was free of any spots that shouldn’t be sat on before they did so. Sara picked at the grass below her nervously, looking for the right words to ask the question she needed to ask.

“This place is kind of romantic,” Rob spoke up. “If I had a girl, I’d bring her here.”

“Yeah,” Sara said, looking down. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“You seem nervous, Sare,” Rob noted, looking to his cousin. He scooted closer to her, their knees touching as he did. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just um… I have some stuff on my mind,” Sara replied, lifting her head to look out over the water. Just ask him, Sara. Ask him and be done with this.

“I know the feeling,” Rob said softly. “You make me so nervous.”

“I… what?”

“But clearly we like spending time with each other, just you and me,” Rob continued. “That’s the funny thing. Like… You hate being nervous, because it feels so damn uncomfortable, but then you find that one person that makes you more nervous than you’ve ever been and, you can’t get enough.”

“Robbie.”

“We’re lucky, aren’t we?” Rob asked, ignoring Sara. “We found that person that we can’t get enough of.”

“Robbie, I–”

Rob gently grabbed Sara’s chin with his hand and urged her face toward him. He leaned in closely and connected their lips causing Sara to stiffen in shock. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Rob didn’t like her. She had told Tegan that so many times. Rob didn’t like her. He couldn’t. He knew she was with Tegan. He knew she was gay.

“Robbie,” Sara said, pushing Rob back softly.

“What’s the matter?” Rob asked, confused.

“I… D-Do you… Do you like me?” Sara asked.

“Well, yeah,” Rob replied. “Don’t you like me?”

“I…”

“Oh.”

“No, Robbie, I… I love you, I do, but, not like that,” Sara sighed.

“So you were just…” Rob closed his eyes and shook his head. “Were you just using me to make Tegan jealous or something?”

“No, Robbie, I would never,” Sara said softly. “Tegan and I… We’re trying to have a baby, and I… I thought that it would be easier on you if I spent time with you first instead of just dropping it on you like that.”

“You don’t like me,” Rob sighed.

“I’m so sorry, Robbie,” Sara apologized. “I thought you knew.”

“But we were spending so much time together,” Rob replied. “You were coming over to see me all the time.”

“I thought it was platonic,” Sara said softly. “There’s a reason I live in Little Holler with Tegan and it’s not just because I’m from there.”

“Meaning?”

“I’m gay, Robbie. You know that.”

“Yeah,” Rob sighed.

“I’m sorry, Robbie. I really am.”

“I’m gonna… head home,” Rob said, standing up from his spot. “I got stuff to do.”

“Robbie, come on, we can still hang out.”

“It’s probably for the better if we don’t, yeah?” Rob replied, walking back in the direction he and Sara had come from.

“Robbie, don’t go,” Sara called out, watching her cousin leave. “Robbie. Robbie.”

Rob stopped between two trees, standing there for a moment. Sara thought maybe the shock had worn off and he was reconsidering. Maybe he would sit and hear what she had to say and possibly even agree to help.

“It’s Rob, Sara,” he said tersely before continuing to walk on, leaving Sara alone by the water.

*

“It’s getting kind of late,” Tegan noted as she and her father stepped outside. The sun was going down over the trees and little stars were beginning to shine in the slightly darkened sky. “Do you think she did it by now?”

“I would think, yeah,” Stephen replied.

The two stood silently for a bit, waiting to see if Sara would start to walk up. Tegan hoped everything was going okay. She hoped Rob hadn’t tried to do anything to her sister. If he did, there’d be hell to pay. Tegan would be sure of it.

“I’m going to find her,” Tegan announced, walking toward Ted and Rob’s house, ready to find her twin. As she passed her car, she caught sight of Sara on her way back. Tegan smiled with relief and met Sara, holding her arms out for a hug. She was taken aback when Sara continued walking.

“Sasa?” she asked. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Take me home,” Sara replied sadly.

“What?”

“I wanna go home, please,” Sara repeated.

“What’s the matter? What happened?” Tegan asked again.

“Robbie hates me!” Sara shouted, rounding on her twin. “That’s what happened, okay?”

“Sara, I don’t–”

“Robbie… Rob kissed me, and when I told him I didn’t like him like that, he left,” Sara interrupted.

“That doesn’t mean that he hates you, Sasa,” Tegan replied. “He could just be in shock.”

“He told me not to call him Robbie anymore, and he left me there,” Sara countered. “And now he hates me.”

“Sara–”

“I’m empty inside now,” Sara said angrily.

“What? What do you mean empty?” Tegan asked confusedly.

Sara reached forward and grabbed one of Tegan’s hands, guiding to rest upon her stomach, and held it there. “Empty.”

“Sara,” Tegan said softly. “There wasn’t a baby in there to begin with.”

“And now there never will be!” Sara shouted, dropping Tegan’s hand and getting in the car. Tegan walked quickly back to Stephen and looked at him with apologetic eyes.

“Daddy, I–”

“Go pick your sister up, Tegan,” Stephen said softly, holding his hand up in a “say no more” gesture. “She just fell.”

“We love you, daddy.”

“Love ya’ll, too,” Stephen replied, watching as Tegan hurried back to the car and got in.


	14. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter of The Holler. This was another hard one to get written. I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story. Let me know what you think.

Tegan sighed as she ascended the stairs. The house was clean now. Poor Sara. Sara had spent the day huddled up in bed, too sad to move very much. It broke Tegan’s heart to see her sister that way. Sara took so much pride in the way the house looked. It was her responsibility, and she took it very seriously. She always wore such a big smile on her face whenever Tegan stepped inside from working out in the field.

“Sasa, baby?” Tegan whispered as she entered the bedroom. She spied Sara’s form under the covers, curled in on itself. “Sasa?”

“Mmm?” Sara groaned.

“You wanna get up to eat?” Tegan asked quietly, approaching her side of the bed and kneeling down to meet her twin’s eyes. “You hungry?”

“Mmm-mmm” Sara replied, shaking her head. She had been crying. Tegan could see how red and puffy her eyes were. Poor Sara.

“You wanna get up and come sit with me?”

“Mmm-mmm.”

“Do you want me to sit in here with you?” Sara shrugged her shoulders in reply, averting her gaze from Tegan’s own. Tegan sighed and nodded her head. “You want to be alone.”

“Sorry,” Sara whispered, speaking up for the first time that day.

“It’s okay, Sasa. We’ll get through this,” Tegan replied, standing up and leaning over the bed. “Can I have a kissy?”

Sara remained silent, craning her head up and pecking Tegan’s lips with her own before settling back onto the pillow.

*

Tegan stood outside with her hands in her jacket pockets, looking down at the ground and kicking random rocks. What was she going to do? Sara was a mess. She probably thought that they would never have kids now, all because of the mistake she made. Tegan wanted to go back in time and fix everything.

 _Some mam_ , she thought to herself. _Can’t even make Sara feel better about all of this_.

Maybe they could just ask someone else. Maybe Ted, or another one of their cousins could do it. If push came to shove, they could even ask their father.

Tegan shivered at the idea. Cousins was one thing. Her own sister was one thing. Their parents were another.

How would the people of the mountains react to that? Would they treat it like any other family arrangement, or would they frown upon the people involved? Either way, it was off the table.

Tegan began to walk without thinking, letting her feet carry her along the ground to wherever they decided she needed to be. Who had Hayley and Courtney asked? She couldn’t remember. She thought that maybe it was a cousin that was closer to Courtney than to herself and Sara, a guy they had only spent a small amount of time with. Tegan wondered how that worked for them.

Maybe people went through what she and Sara had. Maybe not all of them, but maybe some of them. It was probably more common than she was aware of.

*

Tegan looked up to the building in front of her. Ted and Rob’s house. That’s where her feet were wanting to take her. She hadn’t been sure of where she was walking until things started to crunch beneath her boots. She snapped her head up in surprise to find she had made her way to the trees between the hollows. She knew then where her destination would be.

Rob. He needed to answer to some questions. He needed to apologize to Sara. He needed to be confronted.

Tegan walked up to the door and knocked. There was always the chance that Rob wouldn’t be home. Maybe he had gone off on some get away to clear his head and deal with his feelings.

“I figured you’d show up,” Ted said softly as he opened the door. “Rob’s in his room. Hasn’t come out of it all day.”

“Sara’s the same,” Tegan nodded. “She’s been crying in bed.”

“Poor thing,” Ted sighed.

“She don’t even wanna spend time with me,” Tegan whispered.

“She that torn up, huh?” Ted asked.

“Yeah,” Tegan said softly. “How’s Rob doing?”

“I don’t know,” Ted said, shrugging his shoulders. “I knocked on his door and asked when I got up. He just told me to leave him alone.”

“I need to talk to him,” Tegan replied.

“Go ahead,” Ted said, stepping aside and letting his cousin in. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Tegan said, walking toward the hallway.

“Last door on the right,” Ted spoke up as he shut the door.

Tegan rapped the door with her knuckles, waiting for an answer.

“I said leave me alone, man,” Rob called out.

“It’s Tegan.” There was silence from the other side of the door. Maybe Rob didn’t even care to speak to her. Tegan waited a few more seconds before giving up and turning away.

“You come here to rub it in?” Rob spat as he opened the door to his room.

“Rob,” Tegan sighed exasperatedly.

“You know, I don’t know why I was so stupid,” Rob continued. “I thought Sara really, really liked me.”

“She does like you, Rob,” Tegan said. “Just, not that way.”

“Yeah, man, that feels great,” Rob grumbled, walking back into his room and leaving the door open for Tegan to follow him. Tegan shook her head angrily and walking into the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Is this all you’re gonna do?” Tegan asked angrily. “Just sit here and feel bad for yourself because you misread stuff even though you knew good and well that Sara was my wife?”

“Well forgive me,” Rob countered. “I’ve had a crush on her since we were little. But yeah, stupid Rob for holding out hope like that.”

“Rob,” Tegan sighed again. “I’m sorry. I really am. I know it must suck–”

“Do you?” Rob shouted. “Do you know it sucks? Do you know what it’s like to like someone for almost your whole life and then when you finally work up the courage to tell her, she shoots you down? Oh, wait, no you don’t. The only girl you’ve ever liked ended up with you.”

“Well do you know what it’s like to sit in that house and watch her be a shell of herself while knowing there’s nothing you can do about it?” Tegan yelled back. “Do you know how goddamn fucking worthless I feel because I can’t make her feel better? I’m the mam. Mams are supposed to know everything. We’re supposed to do everything right. We’re supposed to be flawless. We’re supposed to be able to lift our women up when they feel down and hide the sadness we feel so they don’t worry about us. I’m the mam, and all I can do is sit and watch while Sara cries her fucking eyes out all day because she’s given up hope that we’ll ever have the family we want!”

“Yeah right,” Rob said incredulously, shaking his head. “There are tons of other guys over here that would be willing to be the father of a kid for you.”

“Yeah. Yeah there are,” Tegan nodded. “So what does that mean?”

“It means take your pick,” Rob replied.

“Rob, open your eyes,” Tegan sighed. “Sara wanted it to be you. She didn’t want these other guys. She picked you to be the dad, for whatever reason it was.”

“And what good does that do me?” Rob asked.

“Look, Rob, I don’t have time for this,” Tegan said. “You just keep moping around and feeling sorry for yourself. I’m gonna head back home and try to cheer Sara up.”

Tegan stepped back into the hallway and shut the door behind her, shaking her head in frustration and walking back to the living room where Ted stood to meet her.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“I wanted to kick his ass,” Tegan replied. “He’s just feeling sorry for himself and won’t listen to a damn thing I say.”

“You should’ve,” Ted said.

“I wanted to, Ted, I really did,” Tegan said, shaking her head. “But what if that sealed it, you know?”

“You think he’ll come around?” Ted asked.

“I don’t know,” Tegan shrugged. “But I’ve got to hold out hope that he will.”

“What if someone else were the dad?”

“It’s up to Sara,” Tegan replied. “I’m not gonna be the one carrying the baby. What she says is what we do.”

“Well,” Tegan began as he and Tegan walked toward the door. “If nothing else, and Sara’s okay with it, I’ll be the dad.”

“That’s sweet, Ted,” Tegan said, smiling. “But what about your girlfriend?”

“She’d understand,” Ted replied, holding the door open for his cousin. “She knows how much I care about you guys.”

“Well, thanks for the offer, Ted,” Tegan said, reaching up on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek before starting to leave. “We’ll keep it in mind.”

*

Tegan walked up the stairs upon her return home, intending to check on Sara. She hoped her twin would be okay. It pained her to see Sara so broken up over the Rob situation. She just wanted Sara to be back to her old self, even though she knew it was asking for much.

“Sara?” she asked softly as she entered the room once again. Sara lifted her head and looked toward the door, signaling that she was awake and had heard her sister come in. “Are you okay?”

Sara rested her head back on the pillow without answering. Tegan sighed sadly and walked around to her side of the bed once more, and knelt down. “Sasa, are you okay?”

Sara shrugged in reply.

“I talked to Rob and Ted today,” Tegan said softly. “I wanted to try to convince Rob to do this for us, but he wouldn’t listen. Ted said… Ted said if you want, he’d be the father.”

Sara smiled a small smile at the sentiment, showing her thankfulness to their cousin for offering what he had.

“Have you eaten today?” Tegan asked. Sara shook her head no. “Have you been hungry at all?” Sara shook her head again.

“Alright,” Tegan said, standing up and removing her jacket. “I’m gonna go take a shower and kind of warm up, but I’ll be right back, okay?”

Tegan waited a few seconds for an answer without receiving one. She nodded her head and walked toward the door, preparing to leave Sara to herself for the time being.

“Tegan?” Sara spoke up, her voice soft and slightly cracked. If the situation were different, Tegan would describe it as cute.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Could you stay with me, please?”

Tegan gave a sympathetic smile, removing her had from the doorknob and walking back to her side of the bed. She began to remove her clothes, stripping down to her underwear and looking down to Sara with questioning eyes.

“Leave them on,” Sara said. “I just want to be with you.”

“Okay,” Tegan whispered, sliding into bed and wrapping her arm around Sara.


	15. It's Robbie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, here's the next chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys think.

Sara looked out the window of the bedroom she and Tegan shared. How long ago was it that Rob confessed his feelings for her? Days? Weeks? Either way, it was hard on her. She just wanted a baby, and she was so sure she was doing the right thing. But Tegan had been right the entire time. Sara had unknowingly led Rob on, making him think that she reciprocated his feelings. She felt so stupid.

She sighed and got out of bed and put her clothes on, walking down stairs afterward. She began to clean. Not in a way that she normally would if she were feeling okay, but clean nonetheless. She wiped down the table in the kitchen with a wet cloth, feeling the cool water freeze her hands. Next she picked up trash from the floor, feeling the air tickle her back as her shirt rode up some. After that she walked into the living, sweeping the floor in there with a broom quickly.

She was making progress, at least. There was that. Maybe soon enough she would be fine again, and she and Tegan could find another man to help them with their family situation.

Her eyes watered. She really wanted to have Rob be the father. Something just felt right about him. It was nothing against any of the other men that could’ve helped them. It was just something she felt inside. Maybe she could talk to her mother about it. Maybe Sonia knew what Sara was feeling.

Sara wiped at her eyes and put the broom up. That’s what she would do. She would go to her mothers’ house and talk to Sonia about everything. She walked toward the back door and popped her head outside to call out to Tegan.

“Hey, Tee?”

“Yeah, baby?” Tegan asked, not looking back to the house as she inspected some crops.

“I’m gonna head over and talk to mama about some stuff real quick,” Sara replied. She waited for a moment for Tegan to acknowledge her statement. Tegan stood up from her spot and turned to face her, resting one arm on top of her head and grabbing her fingers with the other hand.

“You okay? You want me to go with you?” she asked.

“No, it’s fine,” Sara replied, playing with her fingers in front of her. “I just need to talk to her, woman to woman, you know?”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded, walking toward her twin. “I hope it helps.”

“Thanks, Tee,” Sara said softly, craning her neck up and kissing Tegan’s cheek. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Love you,” Tegan replied, pecking Sara’s lips before turning back and walking over to her crops again.

“Love you, too,” Sara said before closing the door and walking back through the house.

*

Sara knocked on the door to her childhood home and waited. She wasn’t sure why she was waiting exactly. It was something that had always happened ever since she and Tegan had moved out, they would knock on each other’s doors and then walk in. Their home was their mothers’ home and their mothers’ home was their own.

“Oh, Sara,” Sonia said in surprise as she opened the door to reveal her youngest daughter. “Why are you just waiting here like this, sweetie?”

“I don’t know,” Sara replied nervously. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, sure, come on in,” Sonia obliged, stepping to the side and holding the door open wider.

“Out here, mama,” Sara said. “If you don’t mind.”

“That’s okay.” Sonia stepped outside and shut the door behind her. “What do you need, baby?”

“W-Well,” Sara began, trying to calm her nerves. “The uh… The other day, Tegan took me over to Big Holler to go see Robbie– Rob, and I was gonna tell him about me and Tegan wanting kids, and ask if he uh, if he would like to help us… But… he um, he thought that I liked him, and he kissed me and told me how he felt about me…”

“Oh, Sara,” Sonia said, pulling her daughter into a comforting hug. “Your daddy called and told us. Sweetie, it’s not your fault.”

“I know, mama, I know,” Sara whispered. “I just… I know that Tegan and I, we can have other options, but… I still want him to be the dad. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, baby,” Sonia nodded. “That’s perfectly normal.”

“Like, it just feels right, you know what I mean?” Sara asked. “Like, out of all the men in that holler, Rob feels like the dad to me, just… I can’t explain it.”

“I know what you mean,” Sonia said, nodding her head once more. “I felt the exact same way when it came to your father. Well, I knew the reason, but I understand what you‘re feeling.”

“Mama?” Sara asked, pulling back. “Did… Did you and daddy ever have a rough patch like this?”

“Well, we spent some time together before we did anything,” Sonia replied. “And it wasn’t quite like with you and your cousin. We were about to go… do the thing, and he stopped me, and he said ‘I can’t do this,’ and I asked him why, and he told me that he was in love with me.”

“What did you do when he said that?” Sara asked.

“I didn’t know what to do,” the older woman said. “I just kind of froze, and we sat there for a good minute or so, just not saying anything.”

“Then what happened?”

“He told me to give him some time,” Sonia answered. “He promised me that he would help your mam and me because he loved us so much, but he said he needed some time to work through some stuff before we… you know, and stuff.”

“Did it hurt you that you couldn’t try then?” Sara replied.

“A little,” Sonia nodded. “You know, I had already been in the mindset all that day, like, ‘I’m gonna have a baby after this,’ so it was a little heartbreaking to come home without having you inside me.”

“Ew, mama,” Sara groaned, laughing a little despite herself.. “That doesn’t sound sweet like you think it does.”

“Sara, you’re a grown woman,” Sonia laughed. “You know that you and Tegan were inside me in a different way than your father or your mather.”

“Ew, mom!” Sara yelled.

“We are both grown women, Sara,” Sonia replied, continuing to laugh at her daughter’s discomfort. “It’s life, baby.”

“Yeah, and you would think it was gross if I was the one sitting here talking about how Tegan’s been inside me,” Sara countered.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” Sonia said. “I hope I helped you some, though.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Sara nodded.

“Okay,” Sonia smiled, bringing Sara into another hug. “You have anymore questions, you come back and ask me, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” Sara replied, returning her mother’s smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

*

Sara stood at the stove, stirring a pan of meat in front of her. She felt lighter. She couldn’t really explain it, but something inside her told her everything was alright. She smiled and hummed to herself while she prepared supper for her and Tegan. She could hear Tegan walking into the kitchen from the living room, trying to sneak up on her.

“That smells so good, baby,” Tegan said softly, wrapping her arms around Sara’s midsection and placing a kiss on her neck. “You’re such a good cook.”

“Thanks,” Sara chuckled. “But just because you compliment the chef doesn’t mean the food will get done faster.”

“And that doesn’t make me patient,” Tegan joked. Just then a knock sounded on the door, startling both twins and calling their attention. The two looked at each other confusedly before Tegan removed herself from Sara. “I’ll go see who that is.”

Sara put the large spoon down to rest and let the meat cook some more. She followed Tegan to the living room, curious as to who it could be at their door.

“What are you doing here?” Tegan asked as she opened the door to see Rob.

“Sara here?” he asked, ignoring Tegan’s question.

“That’s none of your business,” Tegan replied angrily. “I let you off easy last time because I was in your house. Don’t think I’ll let it slide again.”

“Tegan, I don’t wanna fight, okay?” Rob said softly. “I just wanna talk.”

“Talk.”

“Tegan,” Sara spoke up, grabbing her twin’s attention. “Let him in.”

Tegan sighed, but complied, stepping aside to allow Rob to enter the house. He stood awkwardly in the living room as Tegan shut the door behind him and walked to stand beside Sara.

“Go ahead,” Tegan said.

“I want to apologize for… everything, I guess,” Rob said. “I’ve been a jerk.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Tegan scoffed.

“Yeah,” Rob nodded. “Look, I uh… I ain’t real good at um… dealing with heartbreak. But that don’t excuse my behavior.”

“You really hurt me, Rob,” Sara replied.

“I know.” Rob sighed and ducked his head. “I said some things that… well… I didn’t really mean. I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself.”

“It means a lot to us that you came to apologize, Rob,” Sara said before looking to Tegan pointedly. “Right, Tegan?”

“Yes,” Tegan replied, no hint of force in her voice. “It takes a big man to do that.”

“I um… Ted told me about offering to be the daddy for you, and um… If you girls don’t mind, I’d like to do it. I know you, Sara, had your heart set on me for whatever reason.”

“That’s very sweet, Rob,” Sara smiled, tears of joy prickling the back of her eyes. “You don’t have to do that, though. We can choose someone else.”

“I want to,” Rob replied. “If you girls are willing to give me some time, work some stuff out, I’d be happy to.”

Sara wanted to laugh. It was like the story her mother had told her, about how their dad needed time to work some stuff out before he and their mother could try conceiving. “Just knowing that we’re gonna have a baby is enough for me, Rob.”

“Just don’t take forever, and we won’t have to come after you,” Tegan joked.

“I promise,” Rob laughed. He walked over to the twins and apologized one more time before hugging each of them. “You two have a good evening. Bye, Tee, bye, Sare.”

“Bye, Rob,” Tegan answered.

“Bye, Rob,” Sara replied, walking her cousin to the door. She opened the door and waited for Rob to step outside. He stopped in the doorway and turned to Sara with a sly smile on his face.

“It’s Robbie, Sara.”

“Bye, Robbie,” Sara giggled, shutting the door behind him. She turned to Tegan and smiled wider. “We’re gonna have a baby.”


	16. Changing Diapers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, here's a new chapter of The Holler. I know it's been a little while, but I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys think.

Tegan inhaled the crisp autumn air as she stood outside. Things were looking up again. Rob had come by to apologize and offer to be the father of her and Sara’s baby. She and Sara were going to have a baby. She smiled. Sara was happy. She was happy. Everything was right.

Tegan harvested some crops that were ready. In the fall and winter months, she would only plant what was needed for her and Sara. Once it began to get cold, it was harder to make trips up and down the mountain. Other people did it, as they specialized in such crops. Different crops for different seasons meant no overabundance of any one specific type in the hollows. Tegan specialized in warm weather crops.

She stood up from her spot in the field and began to make her way to the house. She thought she might have Sara wash these crops up and use as sides to some dish sometime. It always amazed Tegan how the things she put in the ground produced things for her and Sara to eat. Just a little bit of work and love and she could make a full meal out of stuff from her farm.

“Hey, Sara?” Tegan called out as she stepped inside to find the kitchen empty.

“I’m in the living room,” Sara replied. Tegan nodded her head and set her crops down on the table before she removed her jacket and walked into the room Sara was in. She was surprised to find Hayley there as well.

“Oh, Hayley,” Tegan said. “What brings you around here?”

“Well, I ran out of butter at the house, believe it or not,” Hayley laughed. “And I thought, ‘Tegan and Sara still owe us for the molasses.’”

“We watched your baby,” Tegan replied. “We owe you nothing.”

“Nuh-uh,” Hayley joked. “You guys offered to do that. Don’t count.”

“What do you need butter for anyway?” Tegan asked.

“I’m trying to make Court all fat so I can stay warmer at night,” Hayley said jovially.

“Oh, you’re a chubby chaser?” Tegan laughed.

“I guess I am,” Hayley replied, laughing along with Tegan. “Nah, um, I’m making some cornbread for supper and we like it buttered.”

“We do, too,” Sara spoke up. “Sometimes I think I add too much.”

“You can never have too much butter, baby,” Tegan smiled. “Butter is good.”

“Yeah, but it’s not good for you,” Sara chuckled. “And I gotta keep my baby all healthy and strong so she can take care of us.”

“Well tonight, **my** baby gets to cheat on healthy,” Hayley joked.

“How much do you need?” Sara asked with a laugh.

“Probably a little under a stick if you don’t mind.”

“Damn, you do like it buttery,” Sara said before walking toward the kitchen to retrieve what Hayley had asked for.

“You two doing good?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Hayley smiled. “Things are a little harder cause it’s cold out and we’ve been trying to make sure Emma don’t catch nothing.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Tegan replied. “You guys need someone to watch her again soon?”

“I could talk to Courtney, see what she says,” Hayley offered. “Why, you two looking to sit for us again?”

“Well, Rob stopped by the other day,” Tegan began. “And he said he’d be the daddy for our baby, and I still need to kind of learn how to be a mammy.”

“If you were anyone else, I’d get offended with you for wanting to use my baby girl as practice,” Hayley laughed “But I understand what you’re feeling. I’ll talk to Courtney and see what she has to say, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Tegan smiled. “And could you not tell Sara? I kind of want to surprise her with it.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Your lips are sealed about what?” Sara asked as she returned with a stick of butter in hand. She handed the item over to Hayley with a questioning look on her face.

“They’re sealed, Sara, gosh,” Hayley laughed as she began to head out the door. “I’ll see you two later. Thanks for the butter.”

“Bye,” Tegan said.

“What was that all about?” Sara asked once the door was shut.

“I don’t know,” Tegan shrugged. “Hayley’s weird like that.”

*

Tegan stood in the doorway of the kitchen as Sara pulled a pan of meatloaf out of the oven. Hayley and Courtney would be by at any moment to drop Emma off for the night. Tegan knew Sara would love it. She loved that kid as if she was really theirs.

“You just gonna stand there and gawk at me or are you gonna help?” Sara asked playfully as she checked on her sides while the loaf cooled.

“I’m not gawking,” Tegan replied.

“Then what are you doing?” Sara asked, peeking over her shoulder.

“Looking… intently… at… parts of you.”

“You know, staring at my ass while I cook can only get you so much love from me,” Sara joked. “Eventually you’re going to have to add some romance to the mix.”

“I’ll take a picture of you the next time you bend over so you can see what I see,” Tegan laughed as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”

“Who in the hell…” Sara asked, trailing off as she walked toward the sound as well. She found Courtney, Hayley, and Emma at the door. What was going on?

“Hey, Tee,” Courtney said before handing the baby over. Hayley gave Tegan a baby bag as well. “Thanks for doing this.”

“No, thank you,” Tegan smiled. “Sara’s gonna love this.”

“You three have fun,” Courtney laughed.

“You be a good girl, Emma, okay?” Hayley said to the baby before she and Courtney returned home.

“Wait till Sasa gets a load of you, baby,” Tegan said softly as she bounced the baby and turned around, stopping in her tracks upon finding Sara standing behind her. “Oh, uh… I guess you saw all that, huh?”

“We’re watching the baby tonight?” Sara asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Tegan replied nervously, looking away from her twin’s gaze. “I uh, I kind of asked Hayley if we could.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Tegan said.

“Well, this is just about the cutest surprise I’ve ever seen,” Sara smiled. She walked over and kissed Tegan’s cheek before heading back into the kitchen.

*

“It’s too bad you offered to sit the baby tonight,” Sara said offhandedly as she, Tegan, and Emma sat down at the table to eat their supper. “That gawking was gonna get you some S-E-X.”

“We can still do that,” Tegan smiled mischievously. “We can let Emma sleep in the guest room with and use the monitors from the bag.”

“I don’t feel good about her not sleeping in a crib or with someone else,” Sara replied. “Sorry, Teetee.”

“It’s okay,” Tegan said, taking a bite of her meatloaf as they fell into silence. Tegan looked over at Sara’s side of the table occasionally and smiled. It looked right, seeing her twin with a baby sitting beside her like that. Sara looked like a real mother. And she would be. Soon enough. What would they name the baby? How would they play with it? How would they raise it? Would one of them be the strict parent and the other the lenient one? Or would they work together to make sure the baby got the right amount of both?

“I want to feed her so bad,” Sara spoke up, breaking the silence. She hadn’t looked up from her plate, but Tegan could tell she was blushing for whatever reason.

“Give her some of your potatoes,” Tegan said. “Either that or some of the food Hayley and Courtney left. She’s probably hungry.”

“No, I mean… I want to…” Sara shook her head and looked up to her twin timidly. “With my… hmm-hmm.”

“Oh.” _Oh._

“Yeah,” Sara whispered. She sighed and picked up her fork before scooping up a tiny bit of her mashed potatoes and turning to Emma. “You want some mashied tatoes, baby?”

Emma moved her face away from the utensil, refusing to take a bite of the food Sara had offered her.

“You don’t want any of Sasa’s taters?” Tegan asked as Sara tried again, to the same result.

“Oh, I know,” Sara said before moving the fork over slowly. “Here comes the choo-choo, Emma.” Emma moved away again. “I don’t… that worked when I did it at their place.”

“Maybe she just doesn’t want mashed potatoes right now,” Tegan said. “You want me to go get one of her foods from the bag?”

“Yeah,” Sara replied, waiting as Tegan got up from the table. She ate a little bit more of her own meal before Tegan returned with a jar of mashed bananas. “How about this, Emma? You want nannas?”

Emma giggled in reply and reached her hands out toward Sara as she unscrewed the lid. Tegan laughed and returned to her seat.

“Oh?” Sara chuckled. “You like these?”

“Na,” Emma said. “Nanana”

“You like to eat nananas?”

“Hmm.”

“Okay, baby,” Sara cooed. “We got some mushed nannas for Emma.”

Tegan smiled the entire time Sara fed the baby.

*

Tegan played with the baby in the living room as Sara washed the dishes in the kitchen. She was prepared this time. When they last sat for Hayley and Courtney, Tegan panicked. Sara had run to use the bathroom real quick, and in the time it took her to get back, Emma had dirtied her diaper. Tegan didn’t know what to do. In the old times, she wouldn’t have had to at all. It would’ve been Sara’s job to do that. Mams weren’t supposed to take care of the babies. Just women. Tegan would’ve only been responsible for playing with a child back then.

But that wasn’t right. It should’ve always been an even split like it was nowadays. Tegan was going to keep up that even split. Sara didn’t know anything about taking care of a baby, changing a baby, before that first time either, and she was a natural. If Sara could do it, so could Tegan. They were twins. They were the same.

“Are you two having fun in there?” Sara called out.

“Yep,” Tegan replied. “We’re besties now.”

“That’s cute.”

Tegan checked Emma’s diaper, making sure she hadn’t soiled it yet. She had been doing so periodically during the day. The girl never seemed to have one when she was around. Still nothing. Tegan rolled her eyes.

“How come you let her rip last time we were alone but now I want you to and you don’t have anything for me?” Tegan asked.

“What was that?” Sara called from the kitchen.

“I was talking to the baby,” Tegan replied.

After a few more minutes of pointless waiting, Sara returned from washing dishes. She took Emma from Tegan and played with the baby herself for a little while before Tegan excused herself to the bathroom. She hoped that Emma wouldn’t use it as well while she was gone.

Tegan descended the stairs, drying her still slightly damp hands on her shirt. She walked into the room to see that Sara was holding the baby awkwardly.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Someone’s making a stinky,” Sara replied. “I think she’s just about done now. You done, Emma?”

“Can I?” Tegan asked, walking over to her twin and holding her hands out.

“Oh, Tee, you don’t have to,” Sara replied, standing up with the baby. “I know you don’t know how.”

“I want to,” Tegan replied. “Let me mam up.”

“Okay,” Sara smiled, handing the baby over and grabbing a towel from the bag to put down on the couch.

Tegan sat the baby down on the towel with shaky hands and unfastened her diaper. _You got this, Tee. You’ve killed stuff before. You hate doing that, but you’ve done it. This is nothing compared to that._

“There you go,” Sara whispered, watching on. Tegan wiped Emma down with some baby wipes, making sure the baby was all clean again before she reached into the diaper bag and grabbed another diaper.

“One.” She put the diaper underneath Emma.

“Two.” She folded the diaper back over her.

“Three.” She snapped the diaper closed.

Done.

“Tegan,” Sara said, her eyes watering with joy.

“I did it,” Tegan smiled triumphantly, picking the baby back up and kissing her head. “I… I changed a baby.”

“Yeah,” Sara replied, hugging Tegan and Emma together. “I’m so proud of you.”

*

“I changed the baby today,” Tegan gushed as she and Sara slid into bed with Emma between them. The infant was already fast asleep.

“I know,” Sara smiled.

“Hey, Sasa, guess what.”

“What?”

“I changed a baby.”

“Yep.”

“You know who changed the baby today?”

“Who?”

“Me.”

“You’re so cute,” Sara laughed softly in the darkness. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tegan yawned.

“Hey, Tee?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re gonna have one of those one day.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Tegan hummed tiredly, the energy she felt seconds ago draining as she got comfortable in bed. “We sure are.”


	17. Making Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, wow. A whole month. I never meant to take this long to update this story. I'm so sorry, you guys. I've been trying to find it in me to write this chapter out for a while now, but every time I opened the document, it just felt harder and harder. I don't want to write something that comes off as contrived or untrue to the story. I don't want someone to read it and think, "Hey, this doesn't make any sense. Everything's happening at the wrong speed and people aren't acting like themselves." I've never written something this long before, and the deeper I get into it, the more that fear comes up. Please, if you have any thoughts that you'd like to share about this story, feel free to do so. I would love to hear what anyone has to say. Maybe it could help me feel better about the whole writing process

Sara hummed to herself as she prepared breakfast. She stirred a pan of eggs while coffee brewed and Emma slept in the living room. The baby had woken up early in the morning, a few hours before Tegan was to go outside, and refused to fall back to sleep until a few hours ago.

Sara loved it. Even though she was low on sleep compared to her normal routine, she loved it. _That’s gonna be my life soon_ , she thought to herself as all the smells of the morning mixed together. Hayley and Courtney would be coming over after breakfast to pick up Emma, and then it would be back to Sara and Tegan, just like the last time. Sara was sure that it wouldn’t hurt the way it had before. This time she knew that eventually, she and Tegan would have a baby that their cousins couldn’t take away until the next time. Their baby would be their own. They would be the ones taking her home.

Her. Sara hoped that the baby would be a girl. She couldn’t imagine how it would feel to have a boy. She loved boys, she knew so many in the other hollow, but she knew what having a boy in Little Holler meant for the women.

Sara sighed and shook her head, trying to quell her fears for the time being. She opened the fridge and retrieved some sausage patties that they had received from their uncle Glen. Sara loved breakfast. She wasn’t sure what it was that caused her to love it the way she did. Maybe it was the fact that breakfast was associated with coffee. Maybe it was because breakfast sort of gave the day an official start. Maybe it was because there was something so special to the morning light flowing in through the windows while she sat across the table from a living angel in her sister. Whatever the case, she was quite fond of breakfast.

Sara took a momentary break from her cooking to check on the baby in the other room. Emma was still sound asleep. Sara smiled at the infant’s sleeping frame on the couch. She felt so much like a mother, even if she wasn’t one just yet. Her mom had done this with Tegan and herself. Hayley did this with this very baby. She would one day do it with her own. She felt butterflies swimming inside her.

The baby took in a deep breath and stirred, but she didn’t wake. Sara was ready, though. She pushed off of the doorway, ready to hurry over to the couch, but Emma just moved a little before continuing her slumber. Sara smiled, sure that the child would still be asleep for the time being, and returned to the kitchen.

Tegan was standing at the stove, stirring the food that was there. That was odd. Sara hadn’t heard the back door open. She bit her lip and walked up behind Tegan quietly, slipping her hands inside her twin’s front pockets.

“Why do you have your hands in my pockets?” Tegan asked, her voice soft and playful as she watched the food.

“Because they’re warm,” Sara replied, trailing kisses along Tegan’s neck.

“Is Emma okay?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Sara said. “She kind of looked like she was about to wake up, but she stayed asleep.”

“I hope you don’t mind my taking over,” Tegan said, turning her head to look Sara in the eyes. “I came in real quick to see if you needed help with the baby, but you weren’t here, so I kept an eye on the food.”

“Of course I don’t mind, Teetee,” Sara giggled. “I like when my mam decides to cook for me.”

“I’m not very good at it,” Tegan replied. “You’re better.”

“You’re good at it,” Sara said. “I love when you make me breakfast in bed.”

“I have to do that again sometime,” Tegan smiled.

“You can do it when I’m with child.”

“With child?” Tegan laughed, “What are you from the 1900s or something?”

“Fine, I’ll just put my hands in my own pockets,” Sara threatened playfully.

“No,” Tegan whined, her voice high and cute. “Keep them there.”

Sara complied, smiling widely and kissing Tegan’s lips. Tegan turned back to the food and Sara rested her chin on Tegan’s shoulder. Things felt so good to her. Sara’s mind drifted to the future, the thought of this being how every morning could turn out for them from now on. Their baby sleeping in the living room while she and Tegan spent time with each other in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Is this everything we’re having today?” Tegan asked. “Eggs and sausage?”

“No. I’m gonna put some toast on when everything else is closer to done,” Sara answered.

“That sounds like a damn good breakfast, baby,” Tegan replied. “Sara Quin specialty, right? Damn good breakfast?”

“I try,” Sara giggled.

“You succeed,” Tegan laughed. “I think this is getting ready, so go ahead and do that toast.”

“Okay,” Sara said, removing her hands from Tegan’s pockets and making toast.

*

“Hey, Tee?” Sara asked as she took a bite of toast. Tegan looked up from her plate with a quizzical look, signifying for Sara to continue as her mouth was too full to speak. “Do you think maybe we could go to town after Hayley and Courtney pick Emma up?”

“Sure, I guess,” Tegan replied, swallowing her food. “You need to get something?”

“No,” Sara said, shaking her head. “I was just thinking that maybe we could go out and spend some time together, just the two of us.”

“You sure about that?” Tegan asked. “I mean, I’m all for it, but, you remember what happened last time at the liberry.”

“I know,” Sara sighed. “But I… Well… never mind.”

“No,” Tegan said softly. “It’s okay, we can totally go, like I said, I’m all for it. I just figured that you wouldn’t want to go again any time soon.”

“Those people can bite me,” Sara replied. “I know that no matter what we do, they’ll only see us as sick freaks unless. I know that there are some people in the town that just see us as normal people, but they only see that because they let themselves see it. I can’t change their minds, and regardless of how much of an angel I portray myself to be to the others, all they’ll ever see is evil that does not exist.”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded, taking another bite of food. “What would you like to do while we’re down there?”

“I don’t know,” Sara shrugged. “Maybe we could go out to dinner, maybe go to a bar and dance. Just enjoy ourselves, you know?”

“Dance?” Tegan smiled. “We haven’t done that in a long time.”

“I know,” Sara replied, mimicking her twin’s smile. “I’m not sure we still have the moves.”

“We never had the moves,” Tegan laughed. “But it was our dance, and that’s all that mattered.”

“Do you remember our first night in town by ourselves?” Sara asked.

“Mmm-hmm,” Tegan hummed. “We went to the movies, and we watched some old thing that no one else was interested in so that we could have the theater to ourselves and make out.”

“And then we went to that bar, and we got fucked up,” Sara laughed. “And you were gonna try to drive up the mountain, but you barely made it out to the parking lot before you threw up.”

“It’s probably for the best that happened,” Tegan recalled. “You had to call mom and mam to come get us because neither of us could drive, and then they gave us hell when we got home.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t beat the fire out of us when we got home that night,” Sara noted.

“They wanted to,” Tegan replied. “They were so pissed off at us.”

“But it was a fun night,” Sara said softly. “I felt so alive because I was out with you and only you. Mom and mam weren’t there, and it was just… it was one of the best dates ever.”

“All of our dates were the best,” Tegan replied. “Do you remember that time that we went camping with Hayley and Courtney?”

“When we snuck off and went skinny dipping?” Sara asked, biting her lip.

“Yeah,” Tegan smiled. “That water was so fucking cold.”

“Yeah it was,” Sara chuckled. “But we made up for that in our tent.”

“And then some,” Tegan replied.

The two slipped back into a comfortable silence and continued their breakfast. Emma woke up once Sara was almost done with her plate.

*

“I’m just gonna head out here for a little bit and check up on things,” Tegan said as she put her coat on. Hayley and Courtney had come by a few minutes earlier and picked Emma up. They thanked the twins for watching their daughter for the night and returned home, wishing Tegan and Sara a good night out. “What time did you wanna go to town?”

“I don’t know,” Sara replied, pecking Tegan’s lips with her own. “I was thinking a little bit before seven. How’s that sound?”

“That’s fine with me, yeah,” Tegan nodded before walking out the back door. “I’ll be right back.”

Sara sighed and retrieved the phone, dialing their mothers’ number and waiting.

“Hello?”

“Hey, mama,” Sara said. “Tegan and I are planning on going down to the town tonight, and I was wondering if maybe you and mammy could be available in case we need you.”

“In case you need us?” Sonia asked, confused. “Is something wrong with the car?”

“No.”

“What would you two need us for, then?” Sonia asked.

“We might get to where we can’t um… can’t drive back,” Sara replied, cautiously.

“Oh,” Sonia said. “You two plan on drinking.”

“A little, yeah.”

“You two just call us if you need help getting home,” Sonia offered. “As long as you don’t stay out too late.”

“Okay,” Sara said. “Thank you, mama.”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

Sara hung up the phone and set it down again before walking into the living room and picking up one of her books. She was running out of reading material again. Maybe she could have Tegan stop by the bookstore while they were in town. It would possibly cut into their plans a little if they were going to wait for a while before they left.

Tegan walked back in from outside and popped into the living room momentarily. “Hey, Sasa?”

“Yeah, babe?” Sara asked, looking up from her book.

“I’m about to head upstairs to take a shower, and then we can maybe head out early if you want,” Tegan replied.

“Yeah, that works for me,” Sara smiled. That was perfect for her. “I was thinking about seeing if we could stop at the bookstore before we get something to eat.”

“Yeah, we could do that,” Tegan nodded. “You need some new books?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Sara said. “I’m almost done with this one here.”

“What is it?” Tegan asked.

“It,” Sara answered.

“Yeah, but what is it?” Tegan asked again.

“It,” Sara repeated.

“Yeah, but what is it called?” Tegan sighed in exasperation.

“The name of the book is It,” Sara said once more. “By Stephen King? I know you’ve heard of it before, Tee.”

“Oh,” Tegan replied. “Oh, I thought you were just messing with me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Sara chuckled. “Just go upstairs and get your shower done so we can go out.”

“Alright,” Tegan said, turning back to the stairs. “I’ll be down in a little while. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”


	18. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter of The Holler. I'm happy that I got this one up quicker than the previous one (if not by much, lol.) I apologize in advance if the date isn't quite what some were expecting, but on the bright side, this chapter is a little longer than my usual stuff. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Let me know what you guys think.
> 
> A/N: Hey guys, I had to come in and edit this little note because I forgot to mention there was some alcohol use in this chapter. I don't want anyone to go into blind. Sorry about that.

Sara smiled to herself as the car bounced along its path down the mountain. The way down the mountain had always been bumpy and rough, a product of being just a dirt path between the trees. Sara had found that as she grew older, she became more accustomed to being jostled around in whatever vehicle she happened to be in. She assumed it was like that for everyone in the hollows. This was a trip that they would all make many times in their lives.

She was excited. She and Tegan were on their way to the town below their home, prepared to spend the night out together. Date night. It had been a while since the twins had had an official night dedicated to romance and leisure.

“Where did you wanna eat tonight, Sasa?” Tegan asked, stealing a quick glance to her twin before looking back to the trail ahead of her.

“I don’t know, just somewhere nice that we can afford,” Sara replied. “Anywhere is fine with me.”

“You say anywhere, but I know if I pick a burger joint, you’ll tease me,” Tegan joked.

“Who picks a burger joint for a date?” Sara asked playfully. “What are you, fifteen?”

“Pff, more like sixteen,” Tegan countered.

“My bad,” Sara laughed.

“What sounds good to you, baby?” Tegan asked, getting back to their plans for dinner.

“Umm…” Sara began, thinking for a moment. “How about that place that mom and mam like to go to for their anniversary?”

“The steak place?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded. “That sounds pretty nice, actually.”

*

“I wish we would’ve planned this night out in advance,” Tegan noted as she and Sara stood around, waiting to be seated. The restaurant was quite full, leaving new customers to wait for tables to open before they could be seated. “Maybe we could’ve made some reservations, or something.”

“That’s okay,” Sara replied, moving closer to Tegan. She knew it was a bold move, standing so close to her sister with so many townies around, but the thought of being closer to Tegan was comforting to her. “We’re not in any hurry tonight.”

“You sure you wanna be that close to me, baby?” Tegan whispered, lowering her voice even more as she said the pet name. Sara nodded in reply, moving to rest her head on Tegan’s shoulder, but stopping herself before she did. “Okay.”

The twins waited a few more minutes before a woman walked up to them with menus in hand. “Mrs. Quin?” she asked.

“Just Miss,” Tegan replied, correcting the woman.

“Sorry,” the woman replied before turning around to lead the twins to their table. “Your table is right this way.”

The twins followed the woman through one dinning area and into another before stopping at a small table for two. Tegan pulled Sara’s chair out without thinking and waited for her to sit before pushing it back in and taking her own seat.

“My name is Connie, and I’ll be your server tonight,” the waitress said. “Do you two know what you want right now, or would you like a minute?”

“We’ll take a minute, thank you,” Tegan replied.

“Okay,” the woman, Connie, noted. “Drinks?”

“Just a couple of waters is fine with us,” Tegan answered.

“Um…” Sara spoke up hesitantly. “Do you think you could bring us a bottle of wine?”

“Sure,” Connie said. “I just need to see your ID’s first.”

“Yeah, of course,” Sara said before reaching into her pocket and retrieving her license while Tegan did the same.

“Okay,” Connie nodded. “What kind of wine would the two of you like?”

“Red, please,” Sara replied. The woman wrote down the order of wine and water and walked off, leaving the twins to look over their menus.

“Are you trying to get me tipsy so I’ll go to bed with you?” Tegan joked, glancing up from her menu briefly to see a smile grace Sara’s lips.

“Maybe,” Sara replied, biting her lip. “It depends on if it works or not.”

“We’ll see,” Tegan answered.

*

“What kind of bar did you wanna go to when we get out of here?” Tegan asked, taking a bite of her steak.

“That one we went to that one night,” Sara replied. “The gay one.”

“The one across town?”

“Yes,” Sara nodded, cutting off a piece of meat and putting it in her mouth to chew.

“Did you wanna play pool or something while we’re there?” Tegan asked.

“Pool?” Sara asked incredulously. “No. You’re the pool player. Not me.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Tegan smiled. “We’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, and I suck at it,” Sara countered. “I always have all my balls left when you win.”

“I’ll help you,” Tegan said. “I can stand behind you and help you hold the stick and aim.”

“People will talk,” Sara noted.

“Yeah,” Tegan replied. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, no…” Sara began. “I actually kind of like the idea of you helping me shoot pool. I think it’s romantic.”

“Yeah, I can be that,” Tegan whispered, looking down to the table as her face broke out in a blush.

“You can,” Sara giggled.

*

“It’s kind of crowded here tonight,” Sara said as she and Tegan walked into the bar later that night. “It’s so different from last time.”

“I guess they’re busy tonight,” Tegan replied. “Hey, I’ve got the change for the table. Will you go order us some drinks?”

“Sure,” Sara replied. “What do you want?”

“A cold one,” Tegan smirked.

“Such a mam,” Sara joked before walking off to get the twins’ drinks.

Tegan walked over to the pool tables and put three quarters in one. She pushed the coins inside the table, releasing the balls for public use and grabbed the rack. She racked up the balls on the table and put the wooden item away again before grabbing a stick for herself and Sara each and chalked them up.

“Here you go,” Sara said as she walked up to the table and handed Tegan a bottle of beer.

“Here,” Tegan replied, handing off the stick she had picked out for Sara before she took a swig of her drink. “You go ahead and break since I racked.”

“No,” Sara whined. “I’m no good at it. You do it.”

“I’ll help you,” Tegan sighed playfully, setting her drink down on the side of the table and walking Sara to the other end. She picked up the cue ball and placed it down in front of Sara. “Okay, now bend over.”

“Do you wanna teach me pool, or fuck me public?” Sara joked.

“Well while the latter is tempting, unfortunately I can only do the former,” Tegan laughed. Sara got into position, placing her left hand on the butt of the stick and steadying the front with her right, ready to hit the cue ball. “Oh. Do you think this is the problem?”

“What?” Sara asked, confused. “What’s the problem?”

“You shoot left handed,” Tegan noted. “You’re not a lefty. Maybe that’s why you think you suck.”

“What difference does it make how I shoot?” Sara asked.

“Just switch your hands around real quick,” Tegan replied. Sara did as Tegan suggested and switched the position of her hands, her left now on the front and her right on the back. “How does that feel?”

“Better,” Sara replied. “You mean to tell me I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time and you haven’t told me?”

“I guess I just never noticed because I wasn’t right there on you,” Tegan shrugged. “But when we went down to the table to aim, I knew it felt wrong to me.”

“Now what?” Sara asked.

“Just hit the ball really hard and try to knock something in,” Tegan replied, walking back to her beer and taking another drink.

Sara struck the cue ball with her stick, sending it barreling into the pyramid of balls at the other end of the table. She stood erect again and watched as the colored balls scattered about the table, bouncing off of the sides and each other. A dark green blur flew to the corner and fell in, making a distinct sound as it traveled to the area where the balls were housed when they weren’t in use.

“Oh! Tegan! I made one!” Sara yelled excitedly.

“Yeah you did,” Tegan smiled, watching as the excitement permeated her twin’s features. “You’re solids.”

“Solids,” Sara said, nodding her head and walking over to where the cue ball had stopped to take aim for her next shot.

*

“Tegan? Where do I wanna shoot?” Sara asked as she took aim, seeking her sister’s guidance. The twins had started up a game with a couple that had walked up, the four deciding to play teams. Tegan had let Sara go without calling her shots while the two played together, but she knew that these people might not be so lenient.

“Um… Four in the corner,” Tegan replied before turning back to the woman beside her.

“Four in the corner,” Sara repeated.

“You two have interesting accents,” the woman beside Tegan, whose name was Erin, said. “Where are you from?”

“We’re from um… up,” Tegan said hesitantly.

“Well it’s hard to believe that there’s much up left,” Erin joked.

“She means vertical,” Sara spoke up. “Teetee?”

“Um.. Six off the three, in the corner.”

“Six off the three, in the corner,” Sara repeated.

“Vertical?” the woman’s partner, Susan, asked. “You mean you guys are from…”

“Yeah,” Tegan nodded nervously.

“Oh,” Susan replied.

“We understand if it bothers you,” Tegan said.

“No, it’s fine,” Erin spoke up. “We’ve always talked about going up there to camp, but we never got around to it.”

“What’s it like up there?” Susan asked.

“It’s beautiful,” Sara answered, walking over to Tegan. “I missed, by the way.”

“It must be nice having all your family right there with you,” Susan replied as she walked over to the table for her turn.

“It is,” Tegan said with a smile. “I wouldn’t trade if for nothing.”

“Okay, so… forgive me, but… I have to ask now,” Erin said nervously. “Are you two just sisters or are you like… like… you know?”

“Lovers?” Tegan asked, trying to hide her smile at the other woman’s behavior.

“Yeah.”

“No, no. Nothing like that,” Tegan lied. These women knew they were from the mountains now, but that didn’t entitle them to know everything. There was no guarantee that they would still be hospitable if they found out that the twins were in fact lovers. “We’re just sisters.”

“Oh, god,” Erin replied, panicked.. “I-I didn’t mean anything by it, really. I just–”

“It’s okay,” Sara spoke up. “If we weren’t from the mountains, I would’ve asked the same question, I suppose.”

“I’m really sorry, you guys,” the other woman apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tegan assured.

“You three done talking over there so I can call my shot out now?” Susan joked, causing the other three to laugh.

*

“I’m sorry about telling those people that we were from the mountains,” Sara said as she and Tegan sat down at a booth after one final game of pool.

“It’s okay,” Tegan replied. “I kind of already gave it away when I said up instead of north.”

“I just hate that we had to lie about our relationship,” Sara said, taking a sip of her drink.

“That’s just the way it is,” Tegan said, doing the same. “Those people were nice, but they’re townies. They just… they’re townies.”

“They probably wouldn’t have liked us anymore if we had been truthful,” Sara assumed.

“What time is it?” Tegan asked.

“Almost midnight,” Sara answered.

“You wanna go dance and then head out?” Tegan asked.

“What about the townies?” Sara countered.

“We’re just a couple of sisters having fun,” Tegan replied.

“Alright,” Sara smiled, standing up from her seat. She shook her almost empty drink playfully. “Maybe of few more of these, too.”

“I’m down with that,” Tegan laughed, following her twin.

*

“I don’t wanna be jus sissers,” Sara slurred as she and Tegan sat outside in their car. They had ordered a few more drinks, leading to them to need to call their mom and mam for help. They were currently waiting for the two women to arrive and drive them back home. “I wanna fuck.”

“Wait till we get home,” Tegan laughed. “C’dyou imagine if mom’n’mam found us?”

“Gross!” Sara yelled out playfully.

“S’ra, I love you,” Tegan announced.

“Olive you, too,” Sara replied.

“Why’dyou wanna come down here n’ drink?” Tegan asked.

“C’ss it’s my last night,” Sara answered.

“Lass night?” Tegan questioned, confused.

“I’mma have a baby in me soon,” Sara said. “C’nt drink whiff a baby.”

“When d’you and Rob decide onnit?” Tegan asked.

“We dinnit,” Sara answered, shaking her head. “I’m jus ready.”

“Is ‘at you talking?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. “I’mma be a mommy.”

Tegan smiled at that. Even in her intoxicated state, the thought of having a baby with Sara filled her with delight. If this was Sara’s last night to drink, then she would also abstain from it as well.

A baby. A baby with Sara. She hoped that Rob would agree when Sara called him up the next day or whenever she did. That would be terrible for Sara to be ready, but Rob not to be. It was all too hard to think about as she was now, however.

There was a knock on the window, causing both twins to jump and then giggle as Tegan rolled her window down.

“Mom, hi!” she said enthusiastically.

“Hi, Tegan,” Sonia laughed. “You girls wanna ride with me, or your mammy?”

“We’ll ride with you, c’mon, Sara,” Tegan replied, clambering through the car to get to the back seat. Sara followed suit, laughing the entire time.

“Girls!” Sonia yelled. “Just get out and… Just get out… Just… never mind.”

“Follow close by, babe,” Tammy spoke up before pulling her car out of the parking lot. Sonia kept Tegan and Sara’s car close behind.

“Mom, Mom, Mom,” Sara spoke up, pestering her mother.

“What is it, baby?” Sonia asked, stealing a quick glance up to the rearview mirror.

“I love you,” Sara sang out.

“I love you, too, Sara,” Sonia chuckled, shaking her head. “Next time one of you rides with your mammy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tegan replied playfully.


	19. Call Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I finally got this chapter worked out the way I like it, I think. I've been thinking about this story a lot for the past few days and I'm just so excited to keep getting further and further into it. I hope everyone is still enjoying it. Let me know what you guys think.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry about the pun with the chapter title, but I just couldn't resist, lol.

“This is Rob. I’m probably busy at the moment. I’ll get back to you when I can.”

Sara sighed and shook her head. Why wasn’t Rob answering his phone? He was okay, right? They were okay, right? He said everything was fine now. He was going to be the father of her baby. Everything was worked out now, so why wasn’t he answering?

 _He’s probably just busy doing stuff_ , Sara, she told herself. Things were different in his hollow after all. He and Ted were probably both out in their field doing work. Rob could even be helping someone else with some other form of manual labor. She dialed his number again, hoping that he would pick up this time.

“This is Rob. I’m probably busy at the moment. I’ll get back to you when I can.”

“Fuck,” she sighed under her breath, putting the phone down on the table in front of her. She had other stuff to do. She needed to clean the house still. She needed to be making lunch. She needed to be deciding on something for supper.

Maybe she should try again later. Maybe Rob really was busy doing something and couldn’t answer his phone right now. He’d probably call her back later after he had time to. She could even try again later.

 _I’ll try calling him one more time and if he doesn’t answer then, I’ll call Ted and see if he can tell me anything_. Sara picked her phone up and cautiously dialed Rob’s number once more.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

“This is Rob. I’m probably busy at the moment. I’ll get back to you when I can.”

Sara shook her head. She figured as much would happen. _Let’s see if you’re there, Teddy_ , she thought as she dialed Ted’s number.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring

Ring.

Ring.

  
“Hey, it’s Ted. Sorry I couldn’t answer the phone right now. I’m probably doing work BECAUSE ROB IS A LAZY SHIT! (‘Hey, fuck you, man, I work.’) Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.”

Sara sighed as she got Ted’s voicemail, too. She hung up her phone and stood from her spot on the couch. She would just call back later she supposed. Maybe both men were too busy to talk at the moment.

“Guess I’ll go ahead and do what I need to around here,” she said aloud as she went to retrieve her vacuum cleaner.

*

Tegan grunted as she severed another piece of wood in half. Snow would be coming in soon, so she and Sara would be using a lot of wood in the coming months. Tegan would have a lot of down time once that happened, she supposed. She would need to make sure the cow and the chickens would be able to stay warm as well. She had a lot of work ahead of her before she got that down time. She wiped her brow and set another piece of wood down and readied her ax.

She looked up after cutting the new piece of wood and stared at the roof of the home she shared with her twin. It was old. It would probably need to be reinforced before it snowed. She made a mental not to call her mam and ask for help when she went inside for lunch later.

“A mam’s work is never done,” she sighed before picking up another block of wood.

*

Sara took a momentary pause in her work to check for any messages while she was busy. None. That was okay. People had to work, especially in the mountains. She set her phone down and went to put up her vacuum.

 _I guess lunch is next_ , she thought to herself. She walked toward the back door and stepped outside, finding Tegan in the field. “Hey, babe?” she asked.

“What’s up?” Tegan replied, standing up from her spot.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I’m getting that way,” Tegan said, walking over toward where Sara was. “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know, I was gonna ask you,” Sara answered.

“Well, it don’t have to be nothing big,” Tegan began. “Just make some sandwiches if you want.”

“Okay, yeah,” Sara nodded. “That sounds good.”

“We got chips?” Tegan asked.

“We might, yeah.”

“Cool,” Tegan smiled. “I’ll be in in a little bit, so if you could just make me up one and put one of those tent things over it, I’d appreciate that.”

“I swear, you can’t even make a sandwich for yourself,” Sara laughed. “What would you mams do without us women around to do all the small stuff for you?”

“Ha ha, so funny,” Tegan replied sarcastically. “No cheese.”

“I know how to make it,” Sara said as she stepped back inside.

*

“Mmm, good sandwich, Sasa,” Tegan said happily through a mouthful of food.

“Tegan, manners,” Sara replied, shaking her head.

“Oh, sorry.” Tegan moved her hand in front of her mouth before she continued talking. “You know, I think you make the best sandwiches.”

“Thank you,” Sara chuckled. “How’s your day been so far?”

“Okay,” Tegan replied, moving her hand away to take another bite before moving it back. “I chopped some wood for us earlier, and checked on some of the crops. I’m probably gonna go out there and harvest them after a while.”

“Oh, um… could you milk the cow, please? We’re running a little low.”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded. “How’s your day been?”

“Alright,” Sara shrugged. “I tried to call Robbie earlier, but he didn’t answer. Then I tried Ted and got more of the same. I was gonna probably try again before I do laundry.”

“Oh, call, that reminds me,” Tegan replied. “I gotta call mammy and see if she can help me with the roof.”

“What’s wrong with the roof?” Sara asked, tilting her head.

“Nothing, it’s just old,” Tegan said, taking another bite of her sandwich and putting her hand back over her mouth. “Snow’s gonna be hitting sometime within the next week or so, I suppose. Gotta get it reinforced so it don’t collapse or leak.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sara nodded. “Gonna wanna do that.”

“Anyway, I hope you get ahold of Rob or Ted later,” Tegan said. “But don’t worry about it if you don’t. I’m sure you’ll hear from one of them eventually.”

“Yeah.”

*

“You know, Bessie, one day Sara and I are gonna have a baby, and when she gets old enough, she’s gonna do this,” Tegan said as she milked the cow. She laughed to herself and shook her head. “Isn’t that so cliché? Calling you Bessie? You don’t even have a name, do you girl?”

The cow looked around the room disinterestedly.

“I can’t believe in all these years Sara and I never named you,” Tegan mused. “I guess, really, you don’t name dairy cows, though.”

Tegan continued to fill the bucket with milk as the cow stood in place. She was being quite cooperative today and for that Tegan was thankful.

“I suppose you don’t want to hear all this,” Tegan went on with a laugh. “You’re probably thinking, ‘Why does this bitch keep making noise at me?’”

“I’m scared, girl.” Tegan drained the teat she was working on and moved on to the next. “I’ve never had a child before. I mean, I’ve taken care of Hayley and Courtney’s kid before, but… It’s different when it’s your own.”

“Moo.”

“You can say that again,” Tegan laughed. “You’ve had babies before…”

That was right. She was dairy cow after all. Milk couldn’t be completely sustained without having to have bore young before. It was just a fact. Tegan sat still for a moment as she thought of all the calves that her cow didn’t get to know. Would that happen to her? Would that be their punishment? Would Sara have a boy that they would have to give up? _Brave face, Tegan_ , she told herself. _Even if it comes to that, you’ll be there to make Sara feel better. Mam’s job_.

Tegan shook her head and finished up with the milking, standing up from her stool and patting the cow lightly. “Thanks for listening, girl,” she said before placing a kiss on the cow’s side. “Sorry for all the stuff we’ve taken advantage of you for.”

*

“So did you get ahold of Rob today?” Tegan asked as she and Sara sat down for supper that night.

“Nope,” Sara replied, taking a bite of her food.

“Damn,” Tegan said. “What about Ted? Did you reach him?”

“Nuh-uh,” Sara shook her head. “I tried a couple of times for both, but nothing.”

“Shoot,” Tegan replied. “I’m sure they’ll get in touch soon, though.”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. “What about you? Did you ever call mammy?”

“She said she’ll come by in the morning and help me, yeah,” Tegan answered.

“That’s good.”

The twins were silent for a moment as they enjoyed their meals. It was comfortable. It was nice. Sara still didn’t have her word on whether or not Rob would be ready to help, but that was okay. She wished that she had gotten an answer from someone, but Tegan was right. They’d get in touch with her soon.

“I accidentally named the cow today,” Tegan spoke up.

“What?” Sara asked. “What do you mean accidentally?”

“I just called her ‘Bessie’ while I was talking to her,” Tegan replied. “Cliché, right?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Sara laughed. “What were you talking to the cow for, ya crazy?”

“Just to give me something to do while I milked her,” Tegan chuckled.

“Did you have a nice talk with her?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Tegan nodded. “She’s more of listener, though.”

“Maybe she’s just shy,” Sara joked.

“I had my hands all over her boobs today,” Tegan laughed. “I doubt she was shy.”

“Maybe that’s why she was quiet,” Sara replied, pointing her fork toward her twin. “You were all over her and she was just sitting there thinking, ‘What the fuck is this mam doing? I just wanted to eat some grass.’”

“She liked it,” Tegan countered.

“I don’t know,” Sara said. “If some mam just up and grabbed my boob when she walked through the door, I’d be freaked out.”

“Oh, yeah?” Tegan asked teasingly, standing up from her seat and reaching her hands out toward Sara.

“Tegan!” Sara shouted playfully, jumping away from her sister’s hands. “You’re out of control.”

“I’m the tit grabber!” Tegan continued. “Gimme yo mammaries.”

“Tegan, stop,” Sara laughed. “I’m trying to eat.”

“Fine. You get off this time,” Tegan replied, sitting back down.

“I swear, I don’t know why we need a kid when we have you,” Sara joked.

“You know you love me,” Tegan replied.

“I do.”

*

“Let it ring,” Tegan whispered against Sara’s lips as they were getting intimate in their bed. The phone had started ringing just as Tegan moved to rest on top of her twin.

“I can’t, Tee,” Sara smiled, smacking their lips together again. “What if it’s one of the boys?”

“Fine,” Tegan groaned playfully, moving back to her spot on the bed. “But your pillow talk could use some work.”

“Shut up,” Sara laughed before reaching over to the phone that rested on the table beside her bed and answering it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Sara,” Ted’s voice replied over the speaker. “Sorry to call at this time, but I was busy all day and just now remembered you called me. What was up?”

“Oh, Ted, hi,” Sara answered, sitting up on her side with her back facing to Tegan. “I was just calling to see if you knew where Robbie was. I was trying to get ahold of him earlier.”

“Oh, okay,” Ted said. “Yeah, he’s out camping.”

“Camping?” Sara asked.

“Yeah. He came in yesterday and told me he was gonna head out to this place his folks go to sometimes,” Ted informed. “Said he was probably gonna spend a couple of days out there or so. He should be back around tomorrow.”

“Do you know what he went for?”

“Nah,” Ted replied. “But I assume he was taking some time to himself, you know?”

“Yeah,” Sara said. That was right. Rob was probably spending some time to himself so that he could get over Sara and help her with this thing.

“I’m the tit grabber,” Tegan whispered suddenly, snaking her hands around to fondle Sara’s breasts playfully.

“Tegan, stop,” Sara giggled, covering up the receiver with her hand.

“Hurry up,” Tegan said, pretending to whine.

“Hush,” Sara whispered.

“Sara? You still there?” Ted asked.

“Yeah, I’m still here,” Sara replied, slapping Tegan’s hands away and causing her twin to groan. “Just tell Robbie to call me when he gets back in, okay?”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Ted agreed.

“Okay. Thank you, Teddy,” Sara said. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Sara,” Ted replied as both parties hung up.

Sara reached over and set the phone down before laying back in bed. “Where were we?” she asked.

“I think we can figure it out,” Tegan smiled seductively as she moved back on top of Sara and began to kiss her once more.


	20. Ready...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, everyone. Here's the next chapter of The Holler. I have another chapter that I'm working on right now. I think I might try to get it put up later, as well. I hope everyone enjoys. Let me know what you guys think.

Sara whistled as she swept the floor of her and Tegan’s bedroom. She could hear the sounds of her sister and their mam padding across the roof every now and then as they worked on it, patching it up and fortifying it for the coming snow. She would probably head up there and see how things were coming along once she was done in this room. That would be all of the upstairs for the moment.

She looked over to her phone lying on the bedside table. Still no call from Rob. That was okay, though. She was certain that she'd be receiving one soon enough. Sara hoped that Rob would be ready to help. She knew it was a lot to ask the man, he may still be getting over her at the moment after all. She wished she would've followed Tegan's advice and just asked Rob right away instead of drawing it out the way she had. But it was her mistake, and now it was her problem to deal with.

“It’s more Robbie’s problem than anything,” she thought aloud. She closed her eyes as she thought back to the day he revealed his feelings for her. He looked so devastated, so heartbroken. “Wouldn’t you be, too?”

She was lucky. The only person she had ever been in love with had been in love with her just the same. People didn’t always get that. She was special. Tegan was special. She was sure their mom and mam had had girlfriends before each other. They might’ve even had boyfriends before they figured everything out. It was no secret around their hollows that she and Tegan were a special case. Sara never really had to deal with the ups and downs of dating like other people did. She never had her heartbroken for real. The closest she came was when Rob left her sitting at the pond that day.

Sara took a good look around the room and nodded her head, pleased with the way it looked. She set the broom to lean in one corner before grabbing her phone and heading outside to check on Tegan and their mam.

*

“Come on up and help us,” Tegan suggested as she crouched on top of the roof, facing Sara.

“Hell no,” Sara laughed, holding onto the ladder where she stood at the top. “I’m already up too high for my liking.”

“I’ll catch you, baby,” Tegan replied softly.

“And then you’ll fall with me and we’ll both get hurt,” Sara said. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine sitting here watching my mam work.”

“Which one of us you talking about, girl?” Tammy spoke up from her spot on the roof.

“You know which one, mammy,” Sara countered.

“I know, you meant me,” Tammy joked.

“Of course, mammy,” Sara chuckled.

“You hear from Rob today?” Tegan asked, changing the subject.

“Nah, not yet,” Sara replied. “But that’s fine. I’ll hear from him sooner or later.”

“That’s my girl,” Tegan said with a smile, moving on to the next spot that needed her attention.

“How long do you think you two will be up here?” Sara asked, looking around to inspect the roof.

“I don’t know,” Tegan replied. “Might be done around lunch. Might take longer.”

“And then you gotta come help me with my roof, don’t forget,” Tammy spoke up.

“Yeah, mammy, I know,” Tegan said.

“Alright then. I’ll just get back inside and let you two get back to work,” Sara nodded before turning to her mam. “Mammy, do you think you and mama might wanna eat lunch here today?”

“Sure, yeah. Go ahead and call her. She can help you with chores around the house maybe,” Tammy replied.

“I doubt mama’s gonna wanna come here and do more housework,” Sara laughed before climbing back down and going inside.

*

“Have you been doing okay, Sara?” Sonia asked. Sara had called her mother and asked if she would like to come over and have lunch, to which Sonia agreed. She had arrived not long after, and Sara put on a pot of coffee. They were sitting in the living room now, enjoying the coffee as they waited for Tegan and Tammy to finish with the roof.

“Yeah, been doing okay, mama,” Sara answered, nodding her head and taking a sip of the hot beverage in her hand. “I feel… lighter, you know?”

“I know,” Sonia replied with a nod of her own. “You probably already feel the baby inside you, huh?”

“I wouldn’t put it like that, myself, but yeah,” Sara said, a wide smile appearing on her face. “I just know that any day now I’m gonna wake up and be a mama like you.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Sonia said, putting her hand over her heart. “You know you don’t have to butter me up, sweetie. I love you already.”

“I’m not trying to suck up to you, mama,” Sara laughed. “I really do look up to you when it comes to being the best woman I can be.”

“Sara, you’re gonna make me cry,” Sonia said, half jokingly.

“I’m serious, mama,” Sara replied, getting up from her seat to pour herself another cup of coffee. “I think every woman looks up to her mama growing up. Just like every mam looks up to her mammy.”

“Yes, yes,” Sonia nodded. “I looked up to my mama, too.”

“See?” Sara chuckled, sitting back down. She took a sip of her coffee before staring off toward the floor. “It must be hard.”

“What?” Sonia asked.

“Hmm?” Sara perked up, looking to her mother. “Oh, uh… nothing.

“Sara Keirsten,” Sonia said pointedly.

“I was just thinking that it must be hard to do all of the housework when you’re… when you’re pregnant like that,” Sara replied.

“Yeah,” Sonia answered, setting her cup down on the table in front of her. “It gets harder to get up and sit down. You have to use the bathroom a lot more. Some of the faintest scents start your stomach turning. You can’t bend down and pick things up, so your floor gets a bit dirtier than you would like. Your mam has to help you more, and that makes her even more tired than what she normally is, and that makes you feel bad in turn.”

“Gee, mama, convince me to have a kid, why don’t you?” Sara joked.

“I’m not gonna sugar coat it for you, Sara, that’s not what mamas do,” Sonia replied. “But, there are good things about it. Your mam takes care of you when you feel like you can barely walk. You get to feel the baby kick when they’re moving around, or when they’re happy. You get to look forward to raising him or her and teaching them right from wrong. And, if you’re lucky like me and your mammy were, you’ll have twins.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I could handle twins,” Sara laughed. “I don’t know how you and mammy did it, but I’m sure me and Tegan were our own little bit of hell for you two.”

“Were? Try still are,” Sonia joked, laughing loudly along with her daughter.

“Thanks, mama, I feel the love,” Sara joked.

*

“You get the roof all patched up, babe?” Sonia asked from her seat in the kitchen.

“Good as new,” Tammy replied with a smile, taking a bite of her food. “Well, good as it can be, rather.”

“My back is fucking killing me,” Tegan spoke up, stretching for emphasis.

“Aw, don’t worry, baby,” Sara smiled, reaching over to rub her twin’s back. “I’ll give you a massage later.”

“Mmm, looking forward to it,” Tegan smirk, pecking Sara on the lips.

“What about you, Tam? Need a back rub later?” Sonia asked with a laugh.

“If you wanna give me one, yeah,” Tammy smiled.

“I think I do, yeah,” Sonia replied, leaning in to kiss her wife. “What do you gotta do next?”

“Me and Tee are going back to the house to work on our roof,” Tammy answered. “And then I gotta work the field a little, and then I think that should be it.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, then.”

“What about you, Teetee?” Sara asked. “What do you gotta do after you help mammy?”

“Gotta work in the field, I suppose,” Tegan shrugged. “Lord knows my back’s sore enough as is and I don’t wanna do it, but I guess I gotta.”

“I already told you I’d give you a massage later, lazy,” Sara joked. “Gotta go work before I can, though, okay?”

“Okay,” Tegan sighed playfully.

*

Sara put the last of her plates in the drainer after washing them, removing the rubber gloves from her hands and hanging them on the side of the sink. Tegan and their mothers had left after lunch to work on the roof of their childhood home, leaving Sara by herself. She had picked up her chores where she had left off, cleaning the rest of the house and tending to her chickens. She walked away from the sink and into the living room, tidying up in there as well. After she was done with that, she jogged upstairs to retrieve her book before climbing back down and sitting on the couch. Her phone began to ring as soon as she opened up to her page.

Sara sighed and set her book down on the table before answering her phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Sara, Ted told me to call you.”

Rob! It was Rob. Sara contained herself before replying.

“Robbie, hi,” she replied. “How are you?”

“I’m doing good, girl,” Rob replied happily. “Been out camping and stuff. You?”

“I’ve been good,” Sara smiled. “Me and Tegan went down to the town a couple of nights ago and had ourselves a time.”

“You mean a date?” Rob asked.

“Yeah, a date,” Sara answered, nodding her head. “We drank and shot pool. It was fun.”

“Sounds like it, yeah,” Rob replied.

“Did you just get in?”

“Not long ago, yeah,” Rob said. “Ted told me you said to call, and then I went and took a shower.”

“Cool,” Sara nodded, worrying her thumb between her teeth. _You’re not nervous, Sara, remember?_ she asked herself. _It’s time. Come on_.

“What’d you need?” Rob asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“What did you want me to call you for?” Rob repeated. “Did you need me to come out and do something or whatever?”

“Oh, that,” Sara replied nervously. “Um… I was uh… I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

“Oh, okay,” Rob said. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, um.. I just..” Sara paused and calmed her nerves. _Here goes_. “I was wondering if… you would… if you would um… maybe… Do you think um… Do you think it would be okay if we um… if we um… you know?”

“Girl, I don’t follow a thing you’re saying,” Rob laughed. “What’s up?”

Sara took another deep breath. How did you ask this question? ‘Hey, wanna have sex with me so I can have a baby with my wife?’ ‘Do you think we could make a baby now?’ ‘Would you be okay with putting a baby in me?’

“I was wondering if you were ready,” Sara replied quietly.

“Ready?” Rob asked, confused.

“Yes,” Sara answered quickly. “You know, **ready**.”

“Oh. **Oh** ,” Rob said, realization dawning on him. “Oh, you mean… ready, ready.”

“Yeah.” The line was quiet for some time. Sara wasn’t even sure Rob was still on the phone. He might’ve hung up without her knowing it. “Robbie?”

“I’m here. I’m still here, don’t worry,” Rob replied. Sara could hear him take in a deep breath on his side of the line before he readied himself to speak. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded, tears welling in her eyes. The words were quiet, and they weren’t big, but to her heart they meant everything in that moment. “Thank you, Robbie.”

“Don’t even,” Rob said softly. “It’s the least I can do.”

“I love you, Robbie,” Sara said, her voice shaky as she wiped at her eyes.

“Love you, too, girl,” Rob replied, no hint of longing in his voice whatsoever.

“I um… I’ll let you go about your business for the day now,” Sara sniffled. “I’ll see you tonight? Tomorrow?”

“Tonight is fine,” Rob answered. “I know you want as soon as possible, so tonight is fine.”

“I can wait still,” Sara said. “It don’t have to be tonight if you don’t want.”

“Tonight is fine, Sara,” Rob repeated. “It’s your body.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”

“See you tonight,” Rob said. “Bye.”

“Bye, Robbie,” Sara replied, hanging up the phone. She stood from her seat and wiped her eyes again, completely removing what little tears were there, before heading out the door to talk to Tegan.

*

“Did you really miss me that much?” Tegan joked as Sara climbed up to the top of the ladder that rested against their childhood home. “I haven’t been over here all that long.”

“Yeah, um… about that,” Sara said, nervously grabbing the top of the ladder. “I got a phone call.”

“Oh yeah?” Tegan asked, paying more attention to the roof she was working on.

“Tegan?” Sara spoke up, causing her twin to look up to her. “Did you hear me?”

“You got a phone call, yeah,” Tegan replied, not realizing what her sister was getting at.

“Yes. A **phone** call,” Sara repeated, adding emphasis.

“I got that, Sara…” Tegan chuckled, trailing off as the words hit her. “Oh… Oh!”

“Yes,” Sara nodded, smiling as her twin caught on.

“Wh-What did he say?” Tegan asked, turning to face Sara fully.

“He–” Sara began, collecting herself as her voice caught unexpectedly. “He’s ready.”

“He’s…” Tegan smiled widely, crawling over to Sara, careful not to knock her sister down. “That’s great, Sasa. When are you supposed to go?”

“Tonight,” Sara replied, wiping at her eyes. “Robbie said tonight is good.”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded, placing a kiss on Sara’s forehead. “I’ll come home and do my thing, and then catch a quick shower and we’ll go over there, yeah?”

“That’s good, yeah,” Sara smiled. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Tegan replied softly, briefly connecting their lips before allowing Sara to descend the ladder.

*

Tegan descended the stairs, buttoning up her flannel shirt as she reached the bottom. Sara stood from her spot on the couch and pulled her coat on, handing Tegan her own. Tegan put it on and kissed Sara’s lips.

“You nervous?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah,” Sara replied, her voice shaking.

“It’ll be okay,” Tegan said softly. “Just… think of the baby.”

“What about you?” Sara asked, pulling on the two sides of Tegan’s coat and bringing her closer. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… I’m something,” Tegan answered, nuzzling her head into Sara’s. “I’m um… is there a word for excited and nervous at the same time?”

“Anxious,” Sara said.

“That,” Tegan chuckled. “I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

“Me, too,” Sara replied. “But… this is what we want. Right?”

“The only thing I’ve ever wanted more was moving into this house together,” Tegan smiled reassuringly.

“Me, too,” Sara repeated.

“You ready to go?” Tegan asked, removing herself from Sara and starting to retrieve her keys.

“Do you um… Do you think we could walk?” Sara spoke up, following behind Tegan slowly.

“Walk?” Tegan asked, turning around.

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. “So we can spend as much time together as possible before… well before.”

Tegan looked down to the floor, thinking about what she wanted. Did she want to just take the car and get this thing over with as soon as possible, or did she want to walk with Sara and spend all the time they could together before Sara did this thing? This would be the last real moments they shared together as just them, even if Sara came back without a baby. This was the last time that they could say they were just Tegan and Sara Quin from Little Holler. Tegan knew the answer.

“I would love that.”


	21. ...As I'll Ever Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, and now here's the next-next new chapter of The Holler, lol. I hope no one minds a double update like this. Let me know what you guys think.

“What are we gonna name her?” Tegan asked as the twins walked hand-in-hand through the expanse of trees that separated the two hollows.

“I think it’s a little early to be thinking of names,” Sara laughed. “I don’t know um… something pretty.”

“That’s a weird name,” Tegan teased. “Something Pretty Quin.”

“You are so bad,” Sara whined playfully.

“I know,” Tegan laughed. The wind picked up, chilling the twins. Tegan removed her hand from Sara’s and instead wrapped her arm around her, bringing her closer to help keep them warm.

“What if we have a boy?” Sara asked softly.

“Then we’ll love him and cherish him like we would a girl,” Tegan replied, placing a kiss on top of Sara’s head.

“You’re gonna have to help me around the house,” Sara said. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Tegan replied.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Mama says that you’re gonna be really tired from working in the field and helping around the house and all that. Pulling double duty,” Sara answered.

“Nah,” Tegan countered. “I’m only tired when I do stuff I don’t wanna do.”

“I love you,” Sara said, snuggling into Tegan’s side as they continued walked.

“Love you, too.”

*

The house loomed in front of them, causing Tegan to hold Sara tighter. This was it. They would walk up to the door, knock, and then part ways for… however long it took for a man and woman to procreate. Tegan’s heart beat faster as every centimeter between them and the building disappeared.

One step. _It’ll be okay, Tegan_.

Two steps. _It’ll be over before you know it_.

Three steps. _She’s doing this for you_.

Four steps. _You’ll always be together_.

Five steps. _You’ll be a family_.

Six steps. _Don’t cry_.

Tegan knocked on the door lightly, turning away to discreetly wipe at her eyes as she heard footsteps approaching. Ted opened the door with a small smile on his face, stepping aside to let his cousins in.

“Hey, Sara,” Ted said softly, giving Sara a hug before moving on to do the same to Tegan. “Tegan.”

“Hey, Ted,” Tegan replied, squeezing the man tightly.

“Are you um… staying?” Ted asked warily.

“No,” Tegan answered quickly, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t be able to… to…”

She started to cry as she let herself think about everything. Sara would be with a man, and no matter what Tegan’s situation, she wouldn’t be with Sara. Not in that moment. She didn’t want to stay, no. It would hurt so much more to watch, to sit in that room and do whatever it was she would do, than it would to just leave for a bit and come back.

“Tegan, don’t cry,” Sara whispered, wrapping her sister in a loving hug, her own tears beginning to fall. “It’ll… It’s gonna be okay.”

“I just love you,” Tegan replied, sobbing into the crook of Sara’s neck.

“I love you, too, Teetee,” Sara whimpered. “Please don’t cry.”

“You don’t cry,” Tegan countered, trying to lighten the mood.

“Shut up,” Sara replied, mustering up a small laugh.

Ted put his arms around both twins and held them, kissing their heads in an effort to help soothe them. “Do you guys want me to leave you here for a minute?”

“No,” Tegan replied as all three broke their embrace. She wiped her eyes and nose in an effort to regain composure. “We’re okay.”

“As okay as we can be, yeah,” Sara nodded, leaning in to kiss Tegan quickly.

“Sara?” Rob asked timidly from the hallway, getting everyone’s attention. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Robbie,” Sara said, managing a smile as Rob entered the living room. “Everything’s… everything’s okay.”

“Tegan,” Rob said softly, walking over to his cousin and bringing her into a long hug. He leaned down and kissed her cheek before removing himself from her. “I’m s–”

“I know, Rob,” Tegan interrupted, holding up her hand. “It’s life.”

“I love you, Tee,” Rob replied. “You know that, right?”

“Well I don’t love you, Rob,” Tegan joked despite the tears continuing to slowly spill from her eyes. She wiped her eyes again before smiling warmly, and brought the man into another hug. “No, I’m just kidding. I love you, too, Rob.”

“Your sense of humor is admirable,” Rob chuckled. “Are you staying, or…?”

“I’m not staying, no,” Tegan answered, shaking her head. She took a deep breath and steadied herself before she continued. “It’s hard enough just knowing, you know?”

“Yeah,” Rob nodded. “I’m sorry, again, Tee.”

“I know.”

“I guess… I guess we need to um… you know, before we break down again,” Sara stammered uncomfortably. She gave Tegan another hug and shared a long, loving kiss with her before standing beside her cousin. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tegan replied before looking to Rob. “You be gentle with her, and take care of her, okay?”

“I will,” Rob nodded. He placed his hand on the small of Sara’s back and led her down the hallway.

“You okay, Tee?” Ted asked as Tegan turned away from the hall. Tegan waited for the sound of the door before answering.

“I’m going to cry,” she whispered, barely able to hold back her tears.

“Come on, let’s go,” Ted spoke up quickly, ushering Tegan out the door. “You wanna go to the pond?”

“Please.”

*

“Um… so… how do we um…” Rob trailed off as he sat down on his bed nervously. He kept his eyes trained on the floor, unable to look his cousin in the eye. This was just so weird.

“We turn the lights off,” Sara said softly, trying to appear sure of herself. “And we don’t talk, and I think we’ll live.”

“Okay,” Rob nodded. He stood from his place and walked to the light switch, turning the lights off before removing his shirt. “Do I uh… need to wear a condom?”

“I’m **trying** to get pregnant, Robbie,” Sara laughed. It was a genuine laugh, and that made both of them feel a bit better. “You just want me to keep coming back.”

“Guilty,” Rob joked as the mood in the room became slightly lighter than it was before.

*

“I hate this,” Tegan sniffled, picking up a rock at her feet and throwing it into the body of water in front of her.

“I know.”

“Thank you, Ted.”

“For what?” Ted asked, turning to his cousin. The moon was bright and the stars were shining as well, leaving more than enough light to see in the night.

“Being here with me,” Tegan replied softly. She pulled her coat together more as the wind picked up. “Helping me get through probably the worst night I’ve ever had since Sara and I started living on our own.”

“No problem,” Ted answered, running his hand through his hair. They were quiet for a while, listening to the wind rustle what was left of the leaves on the trees and their discarded companions upon the ground. “I imagine it’s hard to be a mam when it comes to this.”

“Yeah,” Tegan nodded. “Hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Tegan, can I ask you a question?” Ted asked.

“Sure.”

“Do you ever wish that you weren’t a mam?”

“I… I wouldn’t say I wish that I weren’t, no,” Tegan replied, shaking her head. “But sometimes when I’m out in the field or doing work, I wonder if I was meant to be a woman instead. But then I look at my hands, and all the calluses that I’ve built up over the years and just… it makes sense, you know? I feel right when I’m being a mam. When those people down in the town call me ma’am, I wanna correct them and tell them, ‘No, it’s sir’ but I can’t cause they won’t understand. Taking care of Sara, fixing things, tending to the crops, hell, even hunting. It’s my lot in life and I don’t think I’d trade it for anything.”

“Even if it meant you wouldn’t have to go through this?” Ted asked cautiously.

“Even if it meant I wouldn’t have to go through this.”

“How did you know that you were in love with Sara?” Ted asked standing up from his spot and waiting for Tegan to join him.

“I don’t know,” Tegan shrugged as a smile appeared on her face. “I just always have, I guess.”

“Yeah, but there has to be a defining moment, right?” Ted replied.

“I think maybe when we were… fourteen or fifteen?” Tegan said, thinking back. “We had just went out to a bonfire with the girls from Little Holler, and we were all sitting around the fire, telling stories and stuff. Everyone was already with someone there, and we were all just having a good time. I remember Sara was sitting beside me, and I just happened to look over and see her face in the firelight and I just… I don’t know, it kind of hit me then that she was it for me and always had been.”

“That’s sweet,” Ted said, nodding his head and beginning to walk back to his hollow.

*

“I hope we’re not too early,” Tegan whispered as Ted opened the door to his and Rob’s house.

“I know,” Ted replied, walking inside and letting Tegan in behind him. “How are you doing, by the way?”

“I was doing good until we came back,” Tegan answered, folding her arms in front of her chest. “It’s kind of all coming back now.”

“I’m sorry,” Ted offered. A door down the hallway opened and closed, followed by two sets of footsteps walking toward the living room. Sara walked in first, looking down to the ground. Rob followed suit, looking just the same.

“Sara!” Tegan yelled out unexpectedly, causing the other three people to jump at the sound of her voice. Sara looked up to her twin and smiled, accepting the tight hug that Tegan wrapped her up in. Tears of joy lined both their faces at their reunion. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“No.” Sara answered. “I mean, yeah, I’m okay. Nothing’s wrong. I just feel…”

“Awkward,” Rob said, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. “I um… I’m gonna head to my… I’m gonna go out and… I uh…”

“Thank you, Rob,” Tegan spoke up, grabbing Sara’s hand before looking to her cousin. “Sincerely.”

“It was nothing,” Rob replied, looking up shyly.

“No, Rob,” Tegan countered. She dropped Sara’s hand and walked toward Rob, standing up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “It was everything.”

*

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Sara said softly as she and Tegan walked back home. Tegan had pulled her in close as she had on the way over when the wind had picked up.

“It’s okay,” Tegan replied. “Ted was a big help.”

“That’s good,” Sara smiled. “I wish we could’ve done this together, though.”

“We could make up for it later,” Tegan offered. “I could touch you tonight.”

“You can’t, Teetee,” Sara said sadly. “You might… scoop it out.”

“Oh,” Tegan replied. “We don’t want that, no.”

“Let’s see if this takes first. After that, then I’m all yours. Okay, baby?”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded. “I hope it does.”

“Me, too.”


	22. Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. I finally got this chapter worked out. I hope everyone is enjoying the story. I hope to have the next one worked out much quicker. Let me know what you guys think.

It had been a few weeks since Sara’s “meeting” with Rob. She had been feeling differently ever since arriving back at home that night. It was hard for her and Tegan not to fall into normal activities. Sara didn’t even feel confident to sleep without her clothes on like she and Tegan did. She felt silly, but a part of her brain kept telling her that if she took her clothes off, the semen would seep out while she slept and she would have to ask for Rob’s help once again.

The next day she was sure to change into her clothes as quickly as possible, and (as much as she didn’t want to admit it) skipped showering, all so that she could be certain that this pregnancy would take.

After a few days of feeling ridiculous (and wanting to be clean once again) Sara began to shed her worries. She knew she didn’t want to have sex with Rob again. It was nothing against him, he was a fine young man, but he wasn’t Tegan. She was forever changed now, regardless of if she had a baby or not. She had had sex with a man, someone who wasn’t her lover. Things were different now. There was no ill intention behind the action, clearly: She had to do it in order to have a child with Tegan.

Sara couldn’t deny that she felt different now. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was, but she had chalked it up to having been with someone else. She would probably feel the same kind of different if she had been with someone from Little Holler. Maybe she just needed to stop thinking about it. Maybe she could give Tegan the night she had denied her those weeks before.

Currently, Sara sat at the kitchen table with her sewing kit. Tegan had ripped a hole in one of her flannels a few days prior, and Sara had deemed it big enough to need mending. Tegan put up a playful argument before acquiescing to Sara’s plan.

Sara searched through her spools, trying to find a color close to the shade of green that was on Tegan’s shirt. Sara hated this part. She wanted Tegan to look good, and her shirt to look good as new. That wasn’t possible if she just threw any old thing together. Tegan would always tell her, “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a shirt. Sew it up if you really have to, but it’s fine,” to which Sara would reply, “No. It has to look consistent. If I use a red on a blue, it’ll stick out like a sore thumb.” Sara found what she was looking for and then retrieved her needle. She wet the string with her tongue and threaded it through the needle before picking up Tegan’s shirt and beginning to work on it.

As she sewed, she thought back to being a child. She remembered watching her mother sew up clothes for the four people in the house. She loved watching her mother work. Sonia would look so concentrated on the task at hand, working the thread and needle through shirts, pants, and other articles of clothing. Sonia taught Sara everything she knew about sewing, and Sara knew that one day, she might pass that knowledge down herself. She bit her lip. She would be a mama. Maybe not too soon, but eventually for sure. A mama. A mama. Mama. Mama…

*

“Mama?” Sara asked, sitting in a chair at the table. Sonia had her sewing machine out and was currently bent over it, working on patching up some pants. Sara loved her mom’s sewing machine. She loved the noise it made whenever Sonia would step on the pedal. “Mama?”

“What, baby?” Sonia asked, stopping the machine and leaning back to look at her daughter.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sewing,” Sonia laughed. “You’ve seen me do it a hundred times already.”

“Yeah, but what are you sewing?” Sara asked, reaching a hand up to move her hair out of her face.

“I’m sewing up your mammy’s pants,” Sonia replied. “And then I’m gonna sew up a shirt, and then some of your and Tegan’s clothes.”

“You gotta do a lot,” Sara said.

“Yeah, baby, I do.”

“Mama?” Sara asked, tilting her head.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Can you teach me to sew?”

“How old are you two?” Sonia asked, referring to both twins.

“Eight.”

“Okay.” Sonia nodded her head and reached beside her into a laundry basket that she had gathered the damaged clothes in. She picked up one of Sara’s shirts with just a small tear in it, and placed it on the table in front of Sara. “Now what you’re gonna wanna do–”

“No, mama, I want one of Tegan’s shirts,” Sara countered.

“O-Okay,” Sonia replied, confusedly. She moved Sara’s shirt to a different spot on the table and grabbed one of Tegan’s shirts with the same kind of minimal damage, and placed it where the previous shirt had been. “W-Why uh… why do you want one of Tegan’s shirts?”

“Cause we’re gonna get married, and I wanna be like you and mammy,” Sara replied.

“You’re gonna get married, huh?” Sonia laughed. She and her wife had had the feeling before. Everyone had. Something about the twins just screamed that they would be together forever.

“Yep,” Sara answered, smiling. “Tegan’s my girlfriend.”

“Oh she is?” Sonia replied, laughing more.

“Yeah, mama, you know that.”

“And what is it you two do?” Sonia shook her head as she searched for the color of thread that Sara would need to fix Tegan’s shirt.

“We hold hands and we play together,” Sara said, shrugging her shoulders. “She kissed me yesterday morning before she and mammy went out hunting.”

“She kissed you?” Sonia asked, shocked. She turned to Sara with wide eyes and stopped searching through the different threads.

“Yeah.” Sara nodded her head and pointed to her right cheek. “She kissed me right here and told me she loved me. Like you and mammy.”

“That’s the sweetest thing… You two are something else.” Sonia continued sifting through the threads before pulling out the one she was searching for. She placed it on the table in front of Sara and pointed to it. “Okay, now the first thing you’re gonna wanna do is find a thread that’s the same color, or pretty close to the color, of the thing you’re trying to fix. That way it looks good as new.”

*

“Good as new.” Sara smiled as she finished patching up Tegan’s shirt. She held it up and inspected the area where the hole once was. You could only tell that it had been ripped if you knew to look for it. Sara’s smile grew as she saw her handiwork. She set the shirt back down and silently thanked her mother for teaching her how to do it. And one day, she could teach her own daughter how to do it, too. If that daughter grew up to be like her instead of Tegan, that was.

Sara rested her hand over her stomach as her smile fell. If the child would eve **be** a daughter. If there was even a child. She couldn’t stand not knowing. She couldn’t stand having no information on whether or not she was pregnant. There was no bump, there was no kick, there was nothing. It was still far too early for things like that. If there were any signs at the moment, they would be small. Things would be so much easier if she could just wake up and know that there was a baby inside her.

Tegan walked inside, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “Brr. Starting to snow out there.” Tegan walked over to the coffee pot and started to fill it up to brew some coffee. “You cold, baby? You want some coffee?”

Sara continued to sit silently at the table with her hand over her stomach.

“Babe?” Tegan asked again, starting up the coffee. “Babe, you okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I uh… I’m glad you got the roof patched up when you did,” Sara replied quietly.

“What’s the matter?” Tegan asked, walking over to where Sara sat and kneeling down in front of her. “What’s wrong with my little Sasa?”

“Nothing,” Sara said, shaking her head. “I just… I’m thinking about the baby and stuff.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if I’m not pregnant?” Sara asked. “What if I have to… with Robbie again?”

“As much as I don’t want that to be the case,” Tegan sighed. “It’ll be okay. We’ll have her soon enough.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Come on,” Tegan said, standing up and holding her hand out.

“Come on, where?” Sara asked, taking Tegan’s hand and standing up as well.

“Outside. You’re gonna come see the snow. It’ll cheer you up.”

“I don’t have a jacket on,” Sara replied with a small laugh. “I’ll get sick.”

“Then I’ll take care of you,” Tegan smiled, leading her twin out the back door.

“Tegan! It’s so fucking cold out here!” Sara yelled, trying to go back inside. Tegan held her in place, causing Sara to stop moving.

“Come here,” Tegan said, opening up her own jacket. She held it open, inviting Sara inside. Sara walked into her twin’s arms, embracing the warmth that Tegan was offering. Tegan closed her arms around Sara and turned back toward the field. “Look at the snow.”

Sara nodded her head and turned away from Tegan, still in her twin’s embrace, and looked out into the field. Snow was falling steadily, spotting the ground below in white. Sara smiled as she watched.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Tegan asked, resting her chin on Sara’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Sara replied, emotion overtaking her as she felt Tegan’s hands flatten out on her stomach. “It’s perfect.”


	23. Stocking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Here's another new chapter of The Holler. This is my final 2016 update for this story. I hope everyone enjoys. Let me know what you guys think.

“Sara?” Tegan called out as she descended the stairs. “Hey, babe?”

“What’s up?” Sara asked, walking into the living room from the kitchen.

“Since it’s starting to snow now, I was thinking we should head down to town and get some stuff at the store,” Tegan replied. “Don’t know when we could get another chance.”

“Okay,” Sara replied, turning back around. “Just let me get these dishes washed real quick and we can head out.”

“Or, you know…” Tegan began, following her twin into the kitchen. “I-I could go by myself if you um… if you think that you might be p-pregnant.”

Sara walked over to the sink and picked up the plate she had been washing when Tegan called out her name. She smiled to herself as she heard the end of Tegan’s sentence. “No, I… I wanna go,” she replied. “I think it’ll be okay, even if I am. This might be my last chance to go down there and not visit the doctor.”

“Okay,” Tegan said, smiling as she zipped up her coat. “How much longer do you think you’ll be?”

“Just a couple of minutes,” Sara answered.

“Alright. Well, I’m gonna head out and start the car up so it’ll be warm,” Tegan said, pointing her thumb behind her before heading back through the living room.

“Okay.”

*

“Tegan, you don’t have to drive so slowly,” Sara laughed as she and Tegan made their way down the mountain.

“I wanna be careful,” Tegan replied, glancing over to her twin quickly before looking back in front of her.

“Thank you,” Sara said, smiling. “But at this rate, you’re going to have know how to deliver a baby if I am pregnant.”

“Oh ha ha,” Tegan countered sarcastically, pushing down on the pedal slightly and moving the car down the mountain at the speed she normally did. “Tegan’s driving too slow. I get it.”

“Don’t be like that,” Sara teased. “I still love you.”

“I love you, too.”

*

“Okay, so we’ve got lots of canned food, some meat we can but in the freezer, some snacks… what else do you think we need?” Sara asked, looking into the shopping cart that she was pushing through the store.

“Um…” Tegan began, thinking over her mental list. “We’re running low on tampons. Should probably grab some of those.”

“Tampons?” Sara asked, following along behind Tegan.

“Yeah. We’re gonna need some for when the snow gets heavy.” Tegan replied.

“Oh,” Sara said.. “A-Are you on your period right now?”

“No, not yet,” Tegan answered. “But like… soon, I think.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded.

Tegan started walking again with Sara following behind her. Sara debated in her head on whether or not she should grab a pregnancy test. What if she didn’t need it after all? Wouldn’t that be wasted money? But what if she did need it? It was too early to tell.

 _Don’t worry about the test_ , a voice in Sara’s head said. _You’re not gonna need it anyway_.

 _Get the test_ , another voice countered. _You know you need it_.

 _No test_.

 _Test_.

 _No test_.

 _Test_.

 _No test_.

 _Test_.

“Sara?” Tegan whispered as they stood in front of the shelf containing various boxes of feminine products. “Is there anything else I need to get for you?”

“I uh…” Sara began, staring at the shelves in front of her. Did she need the test? Did she need to forget about it?

“Sara?” Tegan asked again.

 _Come on, Sara, just say something_ , she told herself. _Whatever you answer, that’s what will be the right answer. Say it. Say it!_ “I need it!” Sara shouted suddenly, causing Tegan to look at her confusedly.

“W-What?”

“I um… I think I need to go ahead and get a p-pregnancy test,” Sara replied softly. “So grab me some, please.”

“Okay,” Tegan replied, nodding her head. She grabbed a three pack box and put in the cart. “You ready to check out?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Sara said. “Just grab some pads, too.”

“Okay,” Tegan nodded, grabbing a box of pads and placing them into the cart as well.

Tegan stepped around the cart and started walking toward the checkouts. Sara maneuvered the cart around in order to follow behind Tegan. Sara smiled to herself as she looked down at the cart. She felt relief wash through her as she saw the pregnancy tests. She made her decision, and it was the right one. Sara looked up as Tegan stepped in front of the cashier and began unloading all of their items onto the belt. Sara helped, reaching into the shopping cart and placing items on the belt as well.

“Pregnancy tests?” the woman behind the counter asked, holding the box.

“Y-Yeah,” Tegan replied.

“Are these for the both of you?” the woman asked. She had the oh so familiar tone in her voice. The townie tone. The tone that said, ‘I’m probing you to see if you’re really together before I judge you all out.’

“No offense, but that’s none of your business,” Tegan replied defensively.

“I can’t sell these to you,” the woman bit, setting the box down beside her and picking up the next item on the belt.

“Excuse you?” Tegan asked angrily. “What gives you the right to do that?”

“We have the right to refuse service to anyone,” the woman said. “Even hillbillies.”

“Hey, fuck you!” Sara shouted, causing groups of people to look in their direction. “We come here all the time. You can’t just decide you don’t like us because of what we’re trying to buy.”

“Keep your voice down, ma’am,” the cashier replied.

“I will not keep my goddamn voice down!” Sara yelled. “You called us fucking hillbillies! You don’t get to do that shit and then act like I’m the one being ridiculous.”

“Okay, fine,” the woman replied, stopping the belt. “You two can get out. I’m not selling you any of this stuff.”

“No, fuck you,” Sara said. “We’re not leaving until we get our stuff. Pregnancy tests included.”

“I can sell you this other stuff, that’s fine,” the woman snapped. “But I will not sell you those tests and pretend I condone what you freaks do up there. You wanna know if you’re pregnant? Wait until your deformed baby crawls out of your–”

“HEY! HEY!” Tegan shouted, slamming her hand down on the counter. “You don’t talk to her that way, you hear me?”

“Ma’am, I’m going to call secu–”

“You can call your fucking manager! That’s who you can call!” Tegan yelled. “But you sure as goddamn hell don’t ever say that kind of shit to her again, or I swear I’ll tear your throat out so quick you won’t have time to even blink.”

“Look here, little girl. Don’t you try to threaten me,” the woman said angrily. “We clear?”

“Call your fucking manager,” Tegan said, her voice low and angry.

“Fine,” the woman said, picking up the phone beside her.

“No need, Pam,” a woman with curly graying hair said. “What’s the problem here?”

“Your cashier won’t sell us the pregnancy tests that we’re trying to buy,” Tegan said calmly.

“We have the right to refuse service,” Pam said.

“Yes, Pam, that’s true,” the manager said. “If they’re doing something wrong.”

“That’s not what it says in–”

“Just go to the break room, Pam,” the manager said, sighing. She waited for the other woman to leave before she took her place. “I’m so sorry about that. I’m Rebecca, the manager.”

“Thanks,” Tegan said, still reeling from the argument with the cashier.

“I’ll just put this code in on the computer,” Rebecca said, picking up the box for the pregnancy tests and typing in something. “There. You two have your tests. Free of charge.”

“We couldn’t possibly–” Sara began.

“I insist,” the manager said, holding up her hand. “To make up for all of that stuff I’m sure you two are tired of dealing with.”

“Thank you,” Tegan said sincerely.

*

“Ugh, kind of glad we’re gonna be stuck at home for a while after that,” Tegan groaned as she got back in the car after putting all of their purchases away in the trunk. “What do you think, Sasa?”

Tegan waited for an answer as she buckled up her seatbelt. “Sasa?” she asked again, sticking her key in the ignition. Sara sniffled beside her, causing Tegan to look over in worry. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sara replied, wiping at her eyes.

“No, come on,” Tegan said softly. “What’s the matter, baby?”

“That woman just…” Sara said, sniffling again. “That stuff she was saying to me just…”

“Hey, no,” Tegan replied, taking her seatbelt off and reaching over to hold her twin. “She was stupid. Don’t let her get to you.”

“She wouldn’t have before,” Sara countered. She turned toward the window and wiped her eyes again before crossing her arms over her chest. “But like… it’s different now.”

“Why?” Tegan asked softly.

“Because before, I was just thinking about having a kid,” Sara replied, looking down to her lap. “But now it’s more than just thinking about it. I could be pregnant.”

“She hurt your feelings as a mother,” Tegan deduced.

“She talked bad about my child,” Sara sighed, placing one of her hands on her stomach. “Our child.”

“Don’t worry about what that loudmouthed woman said,” Tegan said softly, buckling her seatbelt once again and starting up the car. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

“Thanks.”


	24. The Test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, everyone. Here's the next chapter of The Holler (And the first new chapter of 2017) I know this one took a while to get done, and I'm sorry about that. I struggled with the exact words for the longest, but I think they're there now. This chapter is kind of all over the place, but it was necessary to get to where it needed to be. Also, I'm not 100% sure the timing is right. I've received very trusted help with it all, but unfortunately my brain can't hold it all. Hopefully it's closer to accurate than it is far from it. I hope everyone enjoys. Let me know what you guys think.

It had been a couple of days since the incident at the store. The twins had returned home and began settling down things around the house to further prepare for the snow that had continued to pile up while they were gone.

“Hey, Sasa?” Tegan asked softly, walking into the kitchen where Sara was making breakfast for the morning.

“Hmm?” Sara hummed in question.

“How are you feeling?” Tegan asked.

“Good,” Sara replied, stirring the eggs in the pan in front of her. “You?”

“I’m good,” Tegan said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing the loaf of bread from the counter. She opened it up and pulled out four pieces before placing them in the toaster. “Um… I uh… I got my period today.”

“You did?” Sara asked, turning around to face her twin. “Are you sure?”

“Sara, I had to use a tampon,” Tegan replied jovially. “I think that means I did, yeah.”

“Oh,” Sara said, turning back to pay attention to the eggs again.

“Oh?” Tegan asked, confused. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Sara laughed. “I just… You have your period now and if I don’t get mine, then that means we’ll have our baby.”

“So it was a wrapping your head around everything kind of ‘Oh?’”

“Yes,” Sara answered, turning the burner off and shoveling the eggs onto two plates for her and Tegan both. “I’m trying to contain myself.”

“What uh… What do we need to do?” Tegan asked as the toast popped up. She placed the toast on a plate and walked it over to the table before sitting down.

“Um… We watch the calendar,” Sara replied, sitting at the table as well. “And if a week passes and nothing, then I think I’ll need to take a test.”

“Cool,” Tegan nodded, willing herself to stay calm.

“Cool,” Sara repeated.

*

“Yes, mama, I’m okay now,” Sara said into the phone. The twins’ mother had called not long after Tegan stepped out to tend to the fields and snow. Tegan and Sara had told their mom and mam about the incident that had happened down in the town once they returned home that day.

“Are you sure, baby?” Sonia pressed. “Cause I know how torn up you were over it.”

“I’m sure, mama,” Sara replied, shaking her head good naturedly.

“Okay,” the woman on the other end said. Sara could tell by her tone that she was nodding her head. “How are things over there right now? Do you need Tammy, your mammy to come over?”

“No, I think everything’s all good,” Sara replied, biting back a smile. “Tegan gave me some news, though.”

“Some news?” Sonia asked. “What kind of news?”

“She got her period today,” Sara answered, letting her smile come through fully now.

“Congratulations?” Sonia said, confused.

“Work with me here, mama,” Sara sighed. “Tegan’s on her period. I’m not. So now we’re going to watch the calendar and see what happens.”

“Oh!” Sonia replied, happiness in her voice. “Oh, Sara, that’s wonderful–”

“Shh!” Sara held up a finger to her mouth, although she couldn’t be seen, and shushed her mother. “We’re trying not to get too excited over anything just yet.”

“Oh, okay. I understand.”

“It’s nerve wracking, though,” Sara said. “Was it like this for you?”

“Of course,” Sonia replied. “It’s torture. But good torture.”

“Okay, I’m going to hang up now and pretend I never heard you say that,” Sara joked.

“And I thought you were an adult,” Sonia shot back.

*

The next day, Tegan woke up early as per usual. She kissed Sara’s sleeping lips and then slipped off to tend to her morning routine. She could hardly contain herself as she did, thinking about how Sara could really be pregnant, and they could already be on their way to starting a family.

“Stop that,” she told herself as she shoveled away some snow. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

It was such an enticing idea, however. She could be having a baby with Sara. Tegan tried to keep her mind focused on the task at hand to minimize thoughts that could lead to disappointment. After shoveling the snow, Tegan walked to the barn and checked on the cow, making sure she was warm and comfortable before she went back inside the house. Sara was in the kitchen, starting a fresh pot of coffee before she began her morning’s work.

“Good morning,” Sara said as she pressed the button on the coffee pot.

“Morning,” Tegan answered, removing her jacket and hanging it over the back of a chair. She stood nervously, eyeing the back of her twin’s head for a moment before speaking further. “So…. Um… So?”

“Don’t be so talkative,” Sara joked, grabbing her mug from the cabinet in front of her.

“D-Did you um…” Tegan began, rubbing the back of her neck. “Any news?”

“News? It’s still snowing,” Sara joked before turning back around to face her twin. “But no, no period yet.”

“Yeah?” Tegan asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“But,” Sara began. “That doesn’t meant I’m pregnant yet.”

“Yeah, right,” Tegan nodded.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Sara replied, turning back to the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup.

“Wait and see,” Tegan repeated.

*

“Well?” Tegan asked, tying to contain her excitement as Sara walked back downstairs later that day. “Anything new?”

“Wha– No,” Sara laughed, sitting on the couch beside her twin and picking up the book she had left there. “Tegan, babe, I love your enthusiasm, but pull it back a little.”

“Oh come on,” Tegan whined playfully “You’re seriously telling me that I’m the only that’s super excited about this?”

“No, of course you’re not,” Sara smiled. “But I don’t want to get our hopes up.”

“I know, baby,” Tegan replied.

“Tegan?” Sara asked as she stared down at the pages in her hand, not really taking in any of the words written there.

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared.”

“Hey, no,” Tegan said softly, reaching over and pulling Sara to her. Sara marked her spot in the book and set it down on the table she was brought into her twin’s front. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“It’s not even just the thought of not being pregnant,” Sara whispered, shaking her head. “The thought of being a mother is so fucking scary. What if I’m bad at it? What if the kid hates me?”

“Shh,” Tegan soothed. “You will be the best mother ever and our child will love you more than you will ever know.”

“Thanks,” Sara sighed, letting her twin rock the two of them.

“You’re welcome,” Tegan said softly, placing a kiss on top of Sara’s head.

*

More days passed, each with Tegan excitedly asking Sara about her status on a period, to which Sara would chuckle and shake her head no in reply. Tegan would force herself to contain her excitement, eliciting giggles from her twin as they shared a kiss.

During this time, they would check on the calendar, marking days off as they passed. Tegan’s week was nearing its end, and still there was no period for Sara. As each X was marked over a day, the twins would look at each other with happy, yet careful, smiles.

Eventually, a day came to pass where the twins were busier than usual. Tegan had to cut breakfast short for herself so that she could do her work, and then head out to help their mam before heading over to help Courtney. Sara took care of her normal chores, while also making sure the animals were alright. She had told Tegan that she would do that for her so that she could get to helping others quicker.

Tegan changed the sheets to their shared bed while Sara cleaned up the kitchen downstairs that night. After a long day of doing work, Tegan was glad that it was almost time for bed. She was happy to know that these sheets wouldn’t need to be thrown in the washing machine the next morning.

Tegan stood up suddenly. “My period,” she whispered, her hand going straight to her mouth. She thought back on the time it had been since she had started it. Did she forget to mark the calendar today? She had. “Oh.”

*

Sara shook her head good naturedly as she heard Tegan rushing down the stairs. She turned around from in front of the sink to watch on as her twin bounded into the room. “I already told you today, Tegan,” she chuckled. “No period.”

“No, Sara,” Tegan replied, grabbing the calendar from the wall and rushing across the kitchen. She turned it to face her twin and pointed to that day’s date. “We forgot about the calendar. I’m not on my period anymore.”

“But… How can you… We’ve never finished before the other started,” Sara replied, confusedly.

“Exactly!” Tegan said excitedly.

“A-Are you… Are you saying I’m…” Sara stammered, her eyes watering a little.

“Maybe,” Tegan smiled, tossing the calendar on top of the counter to her side.

“I… should I?” Sara asked softly. “Should I take the test?”

“Yes!” Tegan answered. She grabbed Sara’s wrist and gently led her away from the sink. “You go upstairs to the bathroom and I’ll finish this up down here.”

“Okay… Okay, yeah,” Sara replied, walking up the stairs in a bit of a daze.

*

“Is it time yet?” Tegan asked, sitting on top of the counter in the bathroom as the twins waited for the right amount of time to pass before they would receive their answer from the pregnancy test.

“The box says to wait three minutes,” Sara replied, turning the empty box around in her hand. She looked to her twin with a quizzical look. “How long has it been?”

“Um…” Tegan hummed. She jumped down from her seat on the counter and walked out of the room, walking down to the end of the hallway to use the clock that was there. “It’s been three minutes, yeah.”

“Okay,” Sara whispered, nodding her head as she heard her twin call back to her. She discarded the box into the trashcan before carefully picking up the pregnancy test from its spot on the counter where it sat over a piece of toilet paper in order to keep the two from coming into contact. She looked down at the object in her hand.

Tegan walked back down the hall from the end where the clock sat. She heard a sound come from the bathroom, like something painful had caught in Sara’s throat. Tegan rushed to the bathroom, sliding over the floor as she saw her twin on the ground, tears pouring down Sara’s face. “What? What’s the matter?” Tegan asked, her voice shaky.

Sara’s breath hitched multiple times as she tried to answer, sobs taking her over. She gave up on words and instead held the test out to her twin, waiting for Tegan to take it. Tegan reached out nervously, taking the test from Sara’s hand and spying it. A cry escaped her throat, similar to the one that Sara had made before her, as she dropped the test to the floor and fell down to clutch her sister tightly.

The sounds of crying filled the bathroom, echoing off of everything inside. The pregnancy test sat upon the floor beside Tegan’s leg, forgotten after its news had been revealed. On the screen sat a blue plus sign.

Positive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to take this time to thank quincestiswincest for all she's done for me regarding this story. I honestly can't thank her enough for helping me out the way she has with all of the details I've needed for these chapters. As far as I'm concerned, she has written these last few chapters just as much as I have.


	25. Twelve Weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone, here's another chapter of The Holler. I know this one is a bit jumpy with time as well, but hopefully it isn't too annoying. I'm getting really excited for things right now with this story. I'd say we're on the back nine now (figure of speech, not nine actual chapters left, lol) I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you guys think.
> 
> ALSO, just want to give everyone a heads up, some pregnancy stuff is discussed in this chapter.

The twins stayed where they were for a while, letting the feeling soak into them. The test was positive. They were halfway there. Sara would be having a baby, and they would have the family they wanted. It wasn’t sure fired by any means, but it was a start in the right direction for them.

Soon, they stood up together, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. They separated briefly to wipe at their eyes.

“We’re gonna…” Sara said, chuckling as her words caught in her throat. “We’re gonna have a baby.”

“We’re gonna have a baby,” Tegan agreed, nodding her head. She bent down to pick up the discarded test and threw it away. “A little you.”

“It’ll be a little you, too,” Sara replied, wiping at her eyes once more before the twins walked out of the bathroom and toward their bedroom.

“Not really,” Tegan said. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah, but… we’re identical,” Sara shrugged, removing her clothes before climbing into her side of the bed. She watched as Tegan disrobed before getting in as well. “You’re just as much a part of this baby as I am.”

“I guess I am, yeah,” Tegan replied with a smile, reaching out to wrap an arm around Sara’s middle. “How do you feel?”

“The same,” Sara laughed. “I’m not **that** pregnant, you know.”

“Right,” Tegan chuckled. “Could we maybe… do it?”

“It might be the last time or close to it for a while, yeah,” Sara replied, moving to connect their lips briefly. “It can be our celebration.”

*

“So when do you think we should tell?” Tegan asked the next morning as she and Sara sat in the kitchen.

“Um…” Sara took a moment to think on it before answering. “Probably wait until this trimester is over.”

“That’s a ways away,” Tegan replied. “Why do you think that long?”

“Just, I’ve read before, you know?” Sara began. “The first trimester is the most likely time for a miscarriage to happen.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. “And like… well, heaven forbid, if we lose the baby, then I don’t want to be hounded with all the questions.”

“We won’t lose her, baby,” Tegan said softly. “We’ve worked too hard for her.”

“That’s another thing,” Sara said. “I don’t think we should refer to the baby as any sex until we know what it is. Just so we don’t set ourselves up for heartbreak.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Tegan replied, looking to the ground. “Sorry about that.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Sara countered, walking over to her twin and wrapping her in a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tegan smiled, pecking Sara’s lips quickly.

“So um… until the trimester is over, I should probably not interact with a lot of people,” Sara suggested. “Just so I don’t have to make up too many excuses about why I’m feeling a certain way, or why I’ve put on a little bit of weight.”

“That makes sense, yeah,” Tegan replied.

*

“Tegan, baby?” Sara spoke up a few days later after Tegan had come in from working out in the field.

“What’s up?”

“The snow’s pretty much gone now, and I was wondering if I could ask you something,” Sara replied.

“Sure. What do you need?” Tegan answered, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and taking a drink.

“I was wondering if you could maybe take me down to town so I could buy a book,” Sara said.

“Yeah,” Tegan nodded before putting the cap back on the bottle and putting it back in the fridge. “You out of stuff to read?”

“Not really,” Sara answered. “I kind of want to get a book for expectant mothers.”

“Oh,” Tegan said. “I thought you already had one.”

“No, I just looked at moms one day while I was over there,” Sara corrected. “Before I found out I was pregnant.”

“Okay, yeah. We can do that,” Tegan smiled. “You wanna go right now?”

“We can go now if that’s okay with you,” Sara replied. “Or you can shower first. It’s whatever you want.”

“We can go now, and I can shower when we get back,” Tegan said.

“Okay.”

*

“How are you feeling today, baby?” Tegan asked a few weeks later as she walked into the bedroom where Sara had propped herself up with her pregnancy book. “You okay?”

“I’m alright, yeah,” Sara smiled, letting the book lie flat on her lap as she looked to her twin. “This says here that the morning sickness should start at about six weeks.”

“Sounds like fun,” Tegan joked.

“Oh obviously,” Sara laughed. “Sasa can count on Teetee to take care of her, though, right?”

“Yes Sasa can,” Tegan smiled. “Did you take your nap?” Sara had started to feel tired earlier in the day, a symptom of the pregnancy. She had retired to the bedroom not long after lunch to take a short nap.

“Yep,” Sara replied, wiggling from side to side. “I had the bed all to myself.”

“I hope it helped.”

“It did, yeah,” Sara answered, nodding her head.

“Good.”

*

“I don’t wanna,” Sara groaned over the toilet some weeks later, feeling another set of heaves start to work their way through her body. Morning sickness had started striking the week before and Sara was tired of it already. She shot up from where she rested her head on her arm and let out more of her stomach’s contents into the bowl.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Tegan whispered from behind her, using one hand to hold her twin’s hair back while the other rubbed soothing circles into her back.

Sara spit into the water below her once more before she sat up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Tegan could see where the tears had run down her cheeks as she vomited. She felt so bad for Sara. She wished her sister didn’t have to go through this. “I don’t feel good,” Sara whispered weakly.

“Don’t feel good as in how?” Tegan asked. “Like, baby-wise, or just because of the morning sickness?”

“Morning sickness,” Sara said, quick to quell her twin’s worry. “I’m tired of getting sick like this.”

“I know, baby,” Tegan sighed sympathetically. “But… you’re halfway there on the sickness. It’ll be over soon.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sara replied, nodding her head and standing back up slowly. She stayed hovering over the toilet on wobbly legs, waiting to see if her stomach was okay. After a moment, she walked over to the sink, ready to clean her mouth out.

*

More weeks passed as Sara’s pregnancy continued on, the various symptoms associated with her first trimester becoming a normal occurrence to her. Morning sickness would hit her, she would deal with it. Tiredness would strike her, she would take a nap. Her breasts would grow tender, she would make sure to not disturb them too much.

The last part was probably her least favorite. She wished she could do without the aching of expecting motherhood. Every time she whimpered or sighed in discomfort, she would want Tegan there to help her feel better, but that would cause more discomfort. Tegan had tried to hug her straight on the first time it happened, which Sara would’ve accepted, until their fronts came into contact with one another. Sara ripped out of Tegan’s arms, shooting her an apologetic look as she explained the soreness in her chest. Tegan would have to hug her from the side and be careful doing so, not wanting to cause Sara any unnecessary pain.

Soon the trimester was drawing to a close, and Sara was starting to feel her confidence lift. In her mind, though she knew things could still go wrong, getting past those first twelve weeks would guarantee the baby would make it.

“It’s done,” Sara announced happily one morning, marking a big X on the calendar. She turned to Tegan with a smile and put the cap back on the marker in her hand. “We’re officially into the second trimester.”

“Awesome,” Tegan smiled. “Are you ready to let mom and mam know?”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded. She walked over to Tegan and wrapped her in a hug, kissing her cheek. “And then tomorrow or so, we can head over to Big Holler and tell daddy and Robbie.”

“That sounds good, yeah,” Tegan replied, slowly swaying with her twin from side to side. “You want me to make supper for us tonight?”

“You don’t mind?” Sara asked. “After working and stuff you gotta do today?”

“Nah, I don’t mind,” Tegan answered. “I know you’re probably still not quite over the fatigue and stuff just yet.”

“Not yet, no,” Sara replied. “But I should be soon. Do you know how to make supper?”

“I know how to cook, Sara, damn,” Tegan joked, loving the feeling of Sara’s laughter against her own chest. “I’ll just make deer meat and gravy. How’s that sound?”

“Mmm, yeah, that sounds good,” Sara hummed happily.

“Then that’s what I’ll make.”

*

“Why can’t we go in the kitchen and eat already?” Sonia asked with a huff as Sara kept her and Tammy in the living room.

“Because, mama,” Sara replied. “Tegan’s setting the table up all nice and special.” The twins had devised a plan for announcing the news to their mothers. Tegan would set the table up with a nice tablecloth and the normal things that went on it, but she would also place makeshift name cards in front of each chair.

“We don’t need nothing fancy,” Tammy spoke up. “We’ve eaten here before.”

“Yeah, but it’s been a while since we’ve spent a lot of time with you two and we wanted to do this,” Sara countered.

“Fair enough,” Tammy replied.

“Okay! Table’s ready!” Tegan called out from her spot in the kitchen. Sara led their mom and mam into the kitchen, smiling as she looked down to the name card facing the doorway. _Sara_.

“What’s this?” Sonia asked confusedly as she too spied the paper on the table.

“Just something cute and funny we wanted to do,” Sara answered, taking her seat. Tegan sat down as well, trying to contain herself as she waited for her mothers to see their name cards.

Sonia walked over to the next spot on the table, gasping as she saw the paper there. Tammy walked to her own seat, the only one left empty and looked down, her mind blanking at the word printed in front of her.

“T-Tegan…” Sonia said hesitantly, picking up the card in front of her and turning it around. _Grandma_. “What is this?”

“Your seat,” Tegan smiled, waiting for her mam to speak up.

“Tegan Quin, you better not be playing a joke on us,” Tammy said, her voice wavering as she picked up her own card. _Grammy_.

“No jokes, mammy,” Tegan replied softly. “Tell ‘em, Sara.”

“Mama, mammy…” Sara began, taking a deep breath as she tried to steady her emotions. “I’m pregnant.”

“No,” Sonia replied incredulously, a wide smile gracing her features.

“Yep,” Sara nodded. “Bun in the oven.”

“Oh!” Sonia cried out, pulling her youngest daughter into a hug as tears of joy fell down her face.

“Congratulations, baby,” Tammy said, walking over to Sara’s side of the table and hugging her as well. She left Sara’s side with Sonia behind her, the both of them hugging her as well.

“How far along are you?” Sonia asked as she and her wife took their seats at the table.

“Twelve weeks now,” Sara said softly, placing her hand on her stomach subconsciously. “I hope you don’t mind us waiting that long to let you know.”

“No, no,” Sonia said, shaking her head. “We don’t mind at all.”

“It’s your baby,” Tammy added, a smile breaking out on her face as she said the word. “You two decide when to do what.”

“We’re just so happy for you,” Sonia said.

“Thank you,” Sara smiled.

“Anything you need help with, either of you,” Tammy spoke up. “You come to me and your mama. This is what we’re here for now.”

“Thank you, mammy,” Tegan replied, picking up her fork. “We will, for sure.”

“Day or night,” Tammy added.

“Day or night,” the twins answered in unison as the family began to eat their meal.


	26. News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. I know it's been a while, but here's a new chapter finally, lol. I didn't mean for it to take this long, but I finally got this chapter worked out. This chapter is longer than anything I usually do, so hopefully that makes up for it. I hope you guys enjoy. Let me know that you think.

Sara smiled as she looked down to her lap, the car slowly moving along the trail between the trees that divided the two hollows. The twins were on their way over to Big Holler to let their father and Rob know that Sara was with child now.

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him,” Sara said.

“Who? Daddy or Rob?” Tegan asked, looking over to her twin quickly before looking back in front of her.

“Daddy. I was talking about daddy,” Sara replied. “Although I could just as easily mean Robbie.”

“Should we get them together, or one at a time?” Tegan asked.

“I think maybe one at a time,” Sara said. “I wanna spend time with daddy just the two… three of us.”

“Oh,” Tegan’s voice cracked and her eyes watered at the idea that they were three now instead of two. She wiped at her eyes with one hand and sniffled. “S-Sasa…”

“I’m sorry, Teetee,” Sara laughed softly and reached over to hold Tegan’s free hand. “I get emotional thinking about it, too.”

“We’re three,” Tegan chuckled. “Three of us.”

*

“Oh, well if this isn’t a pleasant surprise.” Stephen opened the door to find his daughters standing outside. He smile widely and stepped to the side, happily letting them inside. He shut the door behind them and held his hand out offering them a seat.

“No thank you, daddy,” Tegan spoke up.

“That’s fine, yeah,” he said, nodding his head. “What brings my favorite girls here?”

“Well, daddy…” Sara bit her lip and placed one hand on her stomach. “We got some news.”

“News?”

“Daddy… I’m pregnant,” Sara replied, letting her smile free. She watched as the man in front of her took the information in, his eyes tearing up, but not quite crying.

“Nuh-uh.” He smiled and shook his head, sure it wasn’t true. “You girls… You’re pulling my leg.”

“No, daddy,” Tegan spoke up, a smile of her own. “It’s true.”

“Twelve weeks along now,” Sara added.

“Come here,” Stephen opened his arms and wrapped his daughters in a big hug, letting his tears fall from his eyes happily. “You two… I love you.”

“Three,” Sara corrected as she began to cry.

“You three,” the man replied, a happy sob shaking his body. He pulled away and wiped at his eyes. “Why’d you girls wait so long to let me know?”

“We waited to tell anyone,” Tegan said softly.

“I read that the first twelve weeks is the most likely time to miscarry, and I didn’t want to jinx this, or end up losing…” Sara added, her voice breaking. She cleared her throat to recover before moving on. “losing the baby, and then have everyone treat me differently.”

“Well, baby, I think you’ll be just fine,” Stephen replied, nodding his head. “Just last week I had me a dream about you two.”

“Really now?” Tegan asked. She put her arm around Sara and rubbed her back, trying to help soothe her twin.

“Yeah,” their father said, nodding his head. “You were babies, and I was sitting in the nursery in your mom and mam’s house. And I was looking down in the crib, and you two had ahold of each other, and your mother walks up behind me and I tell her, ‘They’re so small. I worry for ‘em’ and she says, ‘Everything will be okay’ and then I woke up.”

“Daddy,” Tegan wiped at her eyes and laughed playfully. “You can’t say things like that and expect us not to be emotional.”

“Come here,” Stephen said again, wrapping the twins in another hug.

*

The twins steadied their breaths as they stood outside the door to their cousins’ house. They had left their father’s home after a while, the impact of the news sinking in and settling over them enough that Tegan and Sara could leave their father to take it in on his own and relay the message to another father, the father of Sara’s baby.

Tegan reached out and knocked on the door, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, hey,” Ted opened the door, smiling as he saw that it was his cousins. He stepped aside and let them in, much as their dad had done earlier. Rob walked into the living room, smiling as he saw the twins standing there.

“What bring you two here?” Rob asked, walking over and hugging his cousins. Both twins reciprocated the hug before standing back.

“Well, you see, Rob. Ted. We um… We have something to tell you,” Tegan said.

“Oh yeah?” Rob asked. “What’s up?”

“Guys… Robbie… I’m pregnant,” Sara replied, waiting to see the reactions of her cousins.

“Y-You’re pregnant?” Ted asked, surprised. Sara nodded her head in reply.

“For real?” Rob asked, his voice soft.

“For real.”

“Sara.” Rob smiled and wrapped his cousin in another hug, kissing the top of her head. “That’s great. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Sara laughed. Rob let go of her and hugged Tegan next, congratulating her as well before moving back to stand across from the twins. “Robbie, you should be congratulated, too.”

“Yeah,” Tegan added. “It’s your baby, too.”

“It is, isn’t it,” Rob replied, nodding his head until realization dawned on him. “It’s my baby… I’m…”

Ted reached over and pulled his cousin to him, letting the other man shed his tears of joy. “You go ahead, yeah.”

“I’m gonna be a dad. I’m…” Rob laughed. “I’m a daddy.”

“Yeah you are, man,” Ted said softly. He ruffled his hand through Rob’s hair. “Proud of you.”

“Look, girls,” Rob said as he removed himself from Ted’s grasp. “I’m so sorry for the way I was before… I… Nothing I can say will change what happened, but… I am sorry. Honestly.”

“No need to apologize, Robbie, you’ve already done it enough,” Sara replied. “We all make mistakes. I should’ve told you what I had in mind to begin with, but I didn’t.”

“You didn’t do nothing wrong,” Rob shrugged.

“I did, but I know what you mean.”

*

The ride down the mountain was bumpy as the car slowly made the familiar trip. It had been some weeks since the twins had shared their news with their family and now that the weather had started warming, it was time once again to travel down to the farmers’ market. This trip, however, would be different than most.

“I’m so sorry, baby” Sara said as her voice came through the speaker of Tegan’s phone. “I wish I could be there with you.”

“I know, Sasa, but don’t worry,” Tegan replied as she rocked back and forth with the bumps of the path. “Mammy’s with me. You need to make as few trips down the mountain as possible right now.”

“But I hate it,” Sara whined. “I wanna be there with you at the market. It’s my job. It’s **our** produce.”

“I know it is,” Tegan said softly. “And you can join me again after you have the baby.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Sasa, don’t pout,” Tegan chuckled.

“I’m pouting,” Sara replied.

“No, don’t pout, baby,” Tegan said, still smiling.

“I’m doing it,” Sara continued. “Nothing you can do to stop it.”

“What if I kiss it?” Tegan asked before making kissy noises into the receiver of her phone. “Does that help?”

“Maybe,” Sara replied. Tegan could hear the amusement in her voice. “You might have to try again when you get back.”

“Oh, I will,” Tegan smiled. “Me and mammy are almost down the mountain, so I gotta go, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Sara said. “Try to stay out of trouble.”

“I’ll try. Bye.”

“Bye.”

*

“Damn good turnout tonight, I think,” Tammy said as she picked up one of the baskets on the table. “And the way you handled that ornery girl was perfect, Tee.”

“Thanks,” Tegan replied, picking up another basket and following her mam to the car. She placed the basket in the back and hugged her mam after she did the same. “I love you, mammy.”

“Love you, too, girl,” Tammy replied amusedly, rubbing her hand up and down Tegan’s back.

Tegan removed herself from her mam and started walking back to the table, stopping as she heard her phone begin to ring. She looked at the screen before answering. “Hello?”

“Teetee, I’m hungry,” Sara answered playfully.

“O-Okay, yeah…” Tegan turned to her mam, silently asking if it was okay if she got the rest of the stuff. Tammy nodded in understanding and continued loading up the car as Tegan got back to the phone. “What did you have in mind?”

“Flan.”

“F-Flan?” Tegan laughed. “Sara, baby, you hate flan.”

“I know, I know,” Sara replied. “But I’m craving it so bad right now. Please, Teetee?”

“Yeah, fine… yeah…” Tegan ran her hand through her hair and shook her head playfully. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Teetee,” Sara said happily into the phone. “I wub you.”

“I wub you, too,” Tegan replied. “Mammy and I will be home soon. See you then.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Tegan ended the call and put her phone in her pocket, picking up the final basket from the table and taking it to the car.

“Sara?” Tammy asked knowingly.

“Yep,” Tegan nodded.

“What did she want?”

“Flan,” Tegan said simply.

“But Sara hates flan,” Tammy replied. “Always has.”

“I know,” Tegan chuckled. “But she’s craving it right now she says.”

“It’s kind of late,” Tammy noted as the two got into the car. “You think you’re gonna find any?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Tegan shrugged before shooting a smile to her mam. “Mam’s work, right?”

*

“I’m telling you, Sasa, I can’t find any,” Tegan sighed into the phone as she uselessly jiggled the handle of the final restaurant she could try. She knew the place was closed, but she let herself hope against hope that it would be open. “Everywhere that has flan is closed.”

“But I want it,” Sara replied sadly. “Please, Teetee.”

“Sara, I tried, but I can’t get it for you,” Tegan replied. “I’m sorry.”

“Please?” Sara said softly. “Please, Teetee?”

“Sara,” Tegan sighed. “I can’t. It might be a bit of news for you, but I can’t just poof flan out of the air.”

“Well, I have news for you,” Sara countered angrily. “If you don’t come back with any, then don’t come back at all.”

“Sara–” Tegan shook her head as she heard Sara cut off on the other line. _Nothing personal_ , Tegan, she told herself. _Pregnancy hormones_. Tegan got back into the car and sighed, gripping the wheel without starting the ignition.

“They closed?” Tammy asked.

“Yeah,” Tegan replied. She started the car and backed out of her spot before getting back on the road.

“What are you gonna do now?”

“Sara said not to come home without flan,“ Tegan said softly. “So I guess I gotta find some.”

“Okay.”

*

Home. Tegan had finally made it home after searching for so long. She was able to find a twenty-four hour grocery store that carried a powder mix for flan. That would have to do.

“Sasa?” she asked softly as she stepped inside the house, finding her twin sitting on the couch with a book. Sara put the book down and smiled to her sister.

“Flan?” Sara asked.

“I just get home and you can’t even tell me ‘hi?’” Tegan joked

“Oh, Tegan,” Sara pointed to herself. “Pregnant woman with cravings. Not right now, please.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Tegan smiled. She held her hand up, showing off the plastic bag her purchase from the store was in. “It’s a mix, but that’ll do, right?”

Sara smiled widely and held her hands out, asking for help up. Tegan walked over and assisted her twin. “Yes,” Sara said, hugging Tegan. “Flan is flan.”

“I’ll get this made up, then,” Tegan replied.

*

Tegan walked inside from checking on things in the field. It had been a couple of days since the flan incident now. Tegan walked into the living room and found Sara on the phone.

“What are–”

Sara silently shushed her twin as she held the phone up to her ear. Tegan nodded in understanding and waited.

“Hello, yes. This is Sara Quin,” Sara spoke into the phone, a smile on her face. “I was calling to schedule an ultrasound?”

There was silence for a moment. “Okay. Yes. Yes, ma’am. Um… I… I live in the um… mountains? Is… Could we schedule so that I don’t have to wake up so early? Yes. Thank you so much. Okay. Thursday? Yes, ma’am. Alright. Thank you. Bye.”

“An ultrasound?” Tegan asked once Sara put the phone down.

“Yes,” Sara replied, laughing at how much she had said the word. “I want to check up and make sure everything is alright. Plus, I’m at the point now where they can tell the sex of the baby.”

“Oh, cool,” Tegan smiled. “You want to know the sex?”

“Of course,” Sara replied. “I don’t want to have to worry about if we’re going to have a boy or a girl. I want my mind at ease.”

“And if they say it’s a boy?” Tegan asked.

“Then at least we’ll know.”

“What time do we go in?”

“Thursday, a little after noon,” Sara answered. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Tegan smiled. “You excited?”

“Very.”

*

“Tomorrow,” Sara said excitedly as Tegan climbed into bed. It was Wednesday night. In just a few hours, the twins would be on their way to the hospital for Sara’s ultrasound. They were excited and nervous all the same.

“Tomorrow,” Tegan repeated. “Try not to get your hopes up too high, okay, baby?”

“I know,” Sara replied, yawning. “Goodnight, Teetee.”

“Night, Sasa,” Tegan said, resting on her arms to reach Sara’s lips for a kiss before turning out the light on her side of the bed.

Tomorrow.

*

“Robbie,” Sara said as she hugged her cousin. It had been a while since they had seen one another. She smiled as she let the man go. “Where is he?”

“Right here,” Rob replied, ushering a teenage boy over to him. The boy moved the hair from out of his eyes.

“Hello,” the boy said.

“Oh, hello. So formal,” Sara laughed. She moved to wrap the kid in a hug, but he stepped back. “W-What’s wrong? Don’t wanna hug your own mother?”

“You’re not my mom,” the boy said. “I don’t even know you.”

“Wha…. Yes I am… Brody, sweetie… It’s me. Mama.” Sara felt her eyes start to sting at the rejection.

“Look, I don’t know how you know my name, but I don’t know you,” the boy countered. “Daddy raised me all by himself.”

“No he didn’t. Robbie…” Sara turned, but Rob was nowhere to be found. “Brody, I’m your mother.”

“I don’t have a mother,” the boy said. “She died or something.”

“No she didn’t,” Sara replied, letting her tears fall. “I’m her. I’m your mother and I love you.”

“No you’re not,” the boy repeated. “I don’t know you, and I don’t love you.”

*

“No!” Sara screamed out in the darkness, confusion enveloping her. She was sweating. _What… Brody?_ Sara felt herself tear up again at the thought of her child disowning her. Tegan began to stir at her side unnoticed.

“Sasa?” Tegan groaned.

Sara sniffled.

“Sara, what’s wrong?” Tegan asked, turning her light on. She sat up and looked to her twin. “Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?”

“Yeah,” Sara whimpered, nodding her head. “Yeah, I did.”

“Baby,” Tegan said softly, kissing her wife’s lips. “It’s okay. You’re awake now.”

“It was so real,” Sara said, wiping at her eyes. “I… He was there.”

“Who was there?” Tegan asked.

“The baby. Our son,” Sara replied. “In the dream we had a son, and he… he didn’t remember me. He said I wasn’t his mother.”

“Sasa,” Tegan laid her head down and placed her hand on Sara’s stomach. “It’s okay, baby. It wasn’t real.”

“I’m not going back to sleep,” Sara whispered. She reached over and turned on her own light, grabbing her book from her table as well. “I’ll just read until morning.”

“Sara, you have to sleep,” Tegan said.

“No,” Sara countered, shaking her head. “I’m not going back to sleep. If I do, then it might not be a dream this time.”

“Fine,” Tegan sighed. She kissed Sara’s stomach and then her lips before turning over. “But I need to. Wake me if you need me. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Sara replied. Tegan began snoring soon after. Sara shook her head amusedly. _If only I could do that_ , she thought. She read on in her book for a while before her eyes began to droop. “Hey, you can sleep in there. Mama’s not gonna stop you.”

The next thing Sara knew, she was waking up to the sight of Tegan getting dressed.

*

Sara sat nervously as she and Tegan waited for the sonographer. “What if it comes true?” she asked.

“What if what comes true?” Tegan questioned.

“My dream. Nightmare… What if it’s a boy?”

“It’ll be okay,” Tegan assured. She picked up Sara’s hand in her own. “We’ve got this.”

Sara nodded in reply as the door opened. A woman with curly brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail walked in, her white coat flowing behind her. “Hello, hello,” she said happily. “How are we today?”

“Good,” Tegan replied. She pointed to Sara. “Nervous.”

“That’s to be expected,” the woman said. “Are you the wife?”

“Uh…” Tegan stammered. What did she say? Did this woman know? Was she okay with that?

“Oh, did I offend?” the woman asked. “Cousins? Sisters?”

 _Yes_ , Tegan thought. _Technically both of those things_.

“Let me just…” the woman looked at Sara’s chart quickly. “Oh, mountain folk.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” Tegan said softly.

“That’s so interesting,” the woman replied. “The mountains are so beautiful.”

“They are,” Sara spoke up.

The woman reached over and pulled the ultrasound machine up to her before she grabbed the gel. “So, wife, sister, or cousin?”

“Y-Yes?” Tegan answered softly.

“Yes to which one, dear?” the sonographer asked before looking to Sara and lifting her shirt up over her belly. “This is gonna be a little cold.”

“Y-Yes… To um… all of them… We uh… We’re from the mountains like you said and uh… that… um…” Tegan stammered, unable to finish her sentence.

“Oh.” the woman nodded her head in understanding. “Well that’s just sweet. Did you two want to know the sex of the baby?”

“Yes, please,” Sara answered. Tegan smiled in relief beside her at the woman’s acceptance of them.

“Okay.” the sonographer placed the wand on Sara’s stomach, moving it around as a grainy black and white image appeared on the screen in front of them. “Let’s have a look see.”

The woman was silent as she continued to move the wand around, stopping once she found the baby. “Okay, here we are. Let’s see,” she said. “Very good. Very good.”

Sara smiled at the words, taking Tegan’s hand in her own and lacing their fingers together.

“Your baby is very healthy Mrs. Quin,” the sonographer said happily. She moved the wand a little more. “And here, you can see… She’s a girl.”

Sara’s eyes began to water. “A-A girl? We’re having a girl?”

“Yes,” the woman nodded. “Well, nothing is for certain. Sometimes we’re wrong about these things, but yes, a girl. A healthy, beautiful baby girl.”

“Teetee,” Sara said as her tears began to fall.

“I heard, Sasa,” Tegan replied, crying her own tears as she kissed her twin. “Our little girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thank you to quincestiswincest for all the help and for giving me the flan idea. I hope I did it justice, lol. Also thank you to quin-love-cest for reading over this for me, and thank you to itsyellowbottlestuff for helping me so much as well.


	27. Labor Pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. Here's another new chapter of The Holler. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story as we draw closer to the end. I still can't believe we're this close. Please let me know what you guys think. I love hearing from you all.

Sara groaned as she sat in the living room, reading her book. She thought things would get easier now that it was close to time for the baby to be delivered, but she didn’t think they had. Sure she didn’t have the morning sickness or any of the other symptoms associated with early pregnancy anymore, but she still had to be uncomfortable for just a bit longer. She felt the baby move again and sighed.

“Teetee? Babe?”

Tegan looked over from her spot on the couch. “Yeah, baby?”

“I need up.”

Tegan chuckled and stood up from her spot, turning to help her twin up from the couch. “Potty?”

“Potty,” Sara replied, shaking her head as she waddled her way to the bathroom. “I swear she thinks my bladder is a pillow.”

“Baby, don’t make mama pee pee,” Tegan called out playfully. She smiled smugly as Sara turned and gave her a look. “Better?”

“No. Not in the slightest.” Sara turned back to her path and made her way to the bathroom, muttering under her breath as she walked. “‘Baby, don’t make mama pee pee’ Yeah, she’ll listen to that.”

Tegan laughed to herself and sat back down, waiting for Sara to return. She looked around the room, taking everything in. Pretty soon there would be toys scattered on the floor. There would be messes left from snacking. There would be dirt dragged in from tiny feet. She could see it, if she really tried. Sara shaking her head playfully as Tegan plays with the baby. Tegan smiling widely as she watches Sara read to her. It would be hard to go from being just the two of them to being three, but she was sure it would be worth it. She could still hear the words from Sara that day as they sat for Hayley and Courtney for the first time. ‘I want one.’ And now they were having one.

Sara slowly descended the stairs, making her way over to the couch. Tegan got up to help Sara sit down, sitting back in her seat once her twin was down. “Everything good? Did she listen yet?” Tegan asked.

“She moved, yeah,” Sara grunted. “But she kicked me while I was sitting there.”

“Aww, poor mama,” Tegan leaned in and kissed Sara’s stomach. “All better?”

“No,” Sara whined playfully. “Have you ever been kicked by a baby that’s growing inside you?”

“N-No?”

“Exactly. Not fun,” Sara laughed. “Swear I’m gonna kick her when she’s older.”

“Sasa,” Tegan scolded. “You can’t kick our daughter.”

“I know, I know,” Sara chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m just tired of it.”

“Well, it won’t be long now,” Tegan replied. “Soon she’ll be out here, and we’ll spend all day playing with her and teaching her how to do things, and raising her.”

“I know,” Sara repeated. She picked up her book and sighed.

“You okay?” Tegan asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah,” Sara replied, sighing again. “A little trouble breathing cause of the baby right now.”

“I’m sorry.” Tegan leaned over and put her lips against Sara’s stomach, whispering. “Baby. I know you’re in there. Give mama some breathing room, okay? She loves you, but you’re making her uncomfortable.”

Sara looked down at her twin and smiled happily, taking in an easier breath. “I think she heard you.”

“Thank you, baby.” Tegan giggled and kissed Sara’s stomach. “Mammy loves you.”

*

Panic. She was panicking. She had to get them down the mountain fast! Sara was in labor. She had started having contractions not long ago. Tegan was so worried. _What if we don’t make it in time? What if she has to give birth here in the car? I don’t know how to do that_. She took a quick glance to Sara. “You okay, baby? Are they getting quicker yet?”

“No…” Sara panted and tried to steady her breathing. “Not closer yet… just… try to get us there soon, please.”

“I’m trying, Sasa,” Tegan said as she maneuvered the car down the mountain as quickly and carefully as she could. Fuck this mountain!

*

“How are we feeling now, Mrs. Quin?” the doctor asked. The contractions had started to subside once the car had made it to the road, but Tegan still drove to the hospital to be sure.

Sara sighed. “Better. That was hell on us.”

“I imagine so,” the doctor, Dr. Rucker, said. “Well, luckily this time it was just Braxton Hicks contractions.”

“What do we do when it’s not, though?” Tegan asked, running her hand through her hair. “Like yeah it was lucky this time, but there’s still real contractions in her future. What do we do then?”

“Normally what our mountain patients do is rent hotel room a few days before the due date so that they’ll be closer to the hospital for when the time comes,” Dr. Rucker replied.

“A hotel room?” Tegan asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Rucker answered. “There’s a hotel near the hospital, they know how it is for people in the mountains. The owner has offered any pregnant couples from there free room for the last few days before birth.”

Tegan nodded her head. “Okay. Okay, that’s good, yeah.”

“Have you two decided on the kind of birth you would like to have?” the doctor asked, looking to the twins.

Tegan turned her head to Sara. “That’s up to you,” she said softly.

“I want… I want a natural birth,” Sara replied.

“Okay,” The doctor nodded his head. “When you say natural, you mean…”

“I want to give birth, but I want to not hurt. I want the shot,” Sara said.

“Understandable,” Dr. Rucker chuckled jovially. “Are there any other questions you ladies have?”

“I think that’s all,” Sara replied, looking to her twin. Tegan shook her head, signaling that she had nothing to ask and was satisfied. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“Okay. Well, you two have a good day, and I hope that everything goes smoothly,” Dr. Rucker said with a smile.

“You, too, doc,” Tegan replied, helping Sara up and walking out the door with her. She smiled as she always did when leaving the hospital with Sara. The hospital was so… hospitable. Who knew? Tegan chuckled as she stepped out of the door and helped Sara to the car.

“What’s so funny?” Sara asked with a smile.

“Nothing, just…” Tegan shook her head and grinned. “The hospital is really hospitable is all.”

“You’re such a dork,” Sara laughed. She wished she could rest her head on Tegan’s shoulder like she always did, but it was hard enough to walk at the moment. She would have settle for Tegan’s arm around her shoulders for now.

“Yeah, but you love it.”

“I do.”

*

“Do you have everything?” Sonia asked as she and Tammy helped the twins pack. Sara’s due date was drawing close, and so she and Tegan were getting ready to head back down the mountain as just the two of them for the final time. Tegan looked around, thinking to herself before she answered.

“Yeah, mama. I think we got it all,” she said.

“You girls just call if you need anything else, okay?” Tammy said, walking over and grabbing some of the bags.

“We will, mammy,” Sara replied from her seat on the couch. She held her hands out and waited for Tegan to come over and help her up. She smiled and held her stomach once she was on her feet.

“You ready, baby?” Tegan asked.

“Yeah… Yeah, I think so,” Sara said, nodding her head.

Tegan walked over and grabbed some bags herself. She walked out the front door behind Tammy and the two placed the bags in the back of the car. Sonia helped Sara out the door and to the car, slowly lowering her down so that she could get in.

“You got the keys?” Sonia asked Tegan after she helped Sara in the back seat.

“Yeah. Here.” Tegan reached in to her pocket and handed the keys to her mother before she climbed into the back with Sara.

“I’ll be right behind you in the truck,” Tammy said, walking over to her wife. The two shared a quick kiss before parting as they climbed behind the wheel of the separate vehicles.

“Mama, I’m scared,” Sara said as the car started making its way down the mountain as it had done so much during its and its passengers lifetimes.

“Scared?” Sonia asked, laughing in an effort to comfort her daughter. “Scared of what?”

“Mama, I ain’t never done this before… I…” Sara’s eyes started to water. “What if something goes wrong?”

“Nothing’s gonna go wrong, baby,” Sonia said softly. “You’re gonna have that little girl, and then you three are gonna come up here and live long, healthy lives.”

“Mama, you don’t know that,” Sara replied quietly.

“Sara…” Sonia sighed.

“Sasa, baby. It’s gonna be okay,” Tegan said. She rubbed Sara’s shoulder soothingly. “You and that baby are gonna be alright and I’m gonna bring you back up here and we’ll be happy.”

“Tee, don’t you–”

“Shh,” Tegan shushed Sara and leaned down, placing a quick kiss on Sara’s stomach. “Hey, you in there. Mama’s fretting out here, so do you think you could cheer her up? She might listen to you.”

“Tegan,” Sara said, her voice catching in her throat. Just then she felt the baby move and kick. Sara groaned and laughed. “I think she heard, baby… Could’ve done with just moving, though.”

Tegan smiled and kissed Sara’s stomach again. “Thank you. Love you.” She pulled away and looked to her twin. “Better?”

“Better,” Sara replied, returning Tegan’s smile.

*

The twins stayed in the hotel for the next few days, waiting for any sign that Sara was going into labor. They were both starting to grow frustrated, assuming that they had come down the mountain way too early. Currently, Tegan had stepped out to get some cookies for Sara as the younger twin laid in bed, reading as she did during her downtime. Sara turned to the next page in her book and froze. Oh, that wasn’t good. She was starting to feel contractions. _Braxton Hicks_ , she told herself. _They have to be Braxton Hicks because Tegan’s not back yet_. The contractions started to grow more intense, proving Sara wrong. She set her book down and grabbed her stomach. “No, baby… Not yet… Mammy’s not…”

Tegan stepped into the room, smiling “Sasa, Teetee has cookies.” She shut the door behind her as her smile faded. “S-Sasa?”

“Baby!” Sara yelled. “Coming! Now!”

“Shit!” Tegan set the bag with the cookies down and raced over to Sara’s side. She helped her twin up from the bed and quickly ushered her down to the lobby before getting her in the car. Tegan pulled her phone out and called home.

“Hello?” Tammy answered.

“Mammy! Sara’s going into labor. Get mom, and call dad, Rob, Ted. Whoever. Hospital. Now!” Tegan yelled out quickly and hung up, getting in the car and racing to the hospital.

“Teetee…” Sara said from the back seat as the building came into view. “Teetee…”

“What is it, baby?” Tegan asked. “What’s wrong?”

“My water just broke,” Sara replied.

_Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with last chapter, I'd like to give thanks to everyone who helped me with this chapter. Your support and help means so much to me, and I don't think we'd be here now if it weren't for all of you.


	28. The Last One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Here it is everyone. This is the last chapter of The Holler. It has been a hell of ride getting here over the year since I've started it. I hope that this ending does the story justice and everyone enjoys. Thank you all so much for your support and your reviews and just taking the time to read this story. It has meant so much to me, sincerely. Getting here has been harder than I anticipated, and I would be lying if I said I didn't get a little emotional finishing this chapter up. For one last time in The Holler, I hope everyone enjoys. Let me know what you guys think.

Tegan panicked as the doctors rushed Sara to the delivery room. Fuck, why did I have to be out? _Fuck. I fucked it up. I fucked it up_. A nurse approached her.

“Are you the spouse?” the nurse asked.

“Y-Yeah…” Tegan replied numbly. “Yeah.”

The nurse nodded her head and allowed Tegan to following after everyone. Tegan watched on as Sara was prepped for delivery, making sure to stay out of the way of the doctors and nurses. It was all so scary, but she knew she would have to put on her brave face for Sara.

The doctor sat down in front of Sara and checked on her. Tegan had to fight off the twinge of jealousy that rose up inside her. _It’s just his job, Tegan. He has to_. The doctor got up and threw his gloves away before turning back to Tegan and Sara.

“Okay, so your contractions are getting closer, but you’re still not quite dilated enough, unfortunately,” he noted.

“S-So what do we do?” Tegan asked.

“Well for now, we wait until she dilates the rest of the way and can give birth,” Dr. Rucker replied.

“And the shot?” Sara asked, gripping her stomach as she felt another contraction.

“The nurse is coming to administer it now.”

Sara sighed and let her head fall back onto the pillow. Why did she want to have a baby? No. That wasn’t fair to her child. She had no idea what she was doing. Sara wouldn’t hold that against her.

“Are you okay, baby?” Tegan asked softly as she pulled a chair up to the side of the bed.

Sara nodded her head and winced. “Yeah… just… contractions.”

“It’s okay, Sasa.” Tegan leaned in and kissed Sara’s hand. “I’m here.”

“I know,” Sara replied, smiling to her twin despite the pain inside her. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

*

Tegan sat patiently beside Sara as time passed. Sara’s contractions continued as she waited to be dilated the rest of the way. The doctor came in and checked Sara once more, standing up with the same new as before.

“There are guests here for you,” he said as he threw his gloves away. “Would you be okay with visitors while you wait?”

“Yes. Yes, please,” Sara said quickly.

“Okay. I’ll send a couple back here to see you,” Dr. Rucker chuckled as he turned to leave.

Tegan turned to her sister and smiled. “You answer quick enough?”

“No,” Sara laughed, “But as quick as I could.”

Tegan laughed and leaned in to kiss her twin’s lips quickly. She pulled back with a smile as Tammy and Sonia walked into the room. Tegan stood up from her seat and hugged her mothers before they walked over to the bed to greet Sara.

“How you doing, baby?” Tammy asked, reaching up to move some of Sara’s hair out of her face.

“I’m okay,” Sara replied. “Just ready to get this over with.”

“I know, Sara.” Tammy said softly.

“How long will it take, mama?” Sara asked, turning to Sonia.

“Well, that’s not really something I can answer,” Sonia answered. “It’s different for everyone, and it was real different for me since I had twins. I didn’t even get to do it naturally.”

Sara looked down and played with her fingers. “Do you ever wish you had just one baby instead?”

“No, of course not,” Sonia replied, running her hand through Sara’s hair comfortingly. “I felt so bad that you two had to be born early and that you had to stay here for so long, but I never, never, wished that you were one instead of two.”

Sara sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “I love you, mama.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

*

Tammy waited at the door as Sonia said goodbye to the twins. The doctor had come in to check on Sara again and had found she was fully dilated. He told the twins’ mothers that the only people in the room would need to be the staff and both parents of the baby.

“I’ll be back in here soon, baby,” Sonia whispered, leaning her forehead against Sara’s. “I’m so proud of you.” She gave Sara a kiss and stood up, hugging Tegan and leaving the room quickly.

“Okay, Mrs. Quin, are you ready?” Dr. Rucker asked.

Sara nodded her head quickly. “Yes.”

“Alright. I’m going to need you to start pushing, Mrs. Quin,” the doctor replied.

“Tegan,” Sara said, looking to her twin and reaching her hand up. Tegan took Sara’s hand in her own quickly.

“Push, baby. I’m right here.”

*

Sara pushed, sweat dripping down her face. It had been hours since this whole pushing business had started. She was getting so close, but she still felt like it was so far away. Why couldn’t she just give one push and have a baby? Pop. Baby. Simple. Sara groaned and pushed as hard as she could, which wasn’t much currently given how long she had been at it.

“You’re doing good, Mrs. Quin,” Dr. Rucker said. “Can you give me another push?”

Sara took a deep breath and pushed with all her withered might as she grasped Tegan’s hand in her own. Sara stopped, having to catch her breath. Tegan leaned in and kissed Sara’s cheek, not minding that it was slick with sweat from all of her exertion.

“You’re doing good, baby. You’re almost there,” she whispered.

“Alright, Mrs. Quin. I see the head. Your baby is crowning,” the doctor said as he looked up. “Just three more pushes and she’ll be here with us. Can you do that?”

“I…” Sara took a moment to catch her breath and nodded. “Yeah.” She squeezed Tegan’s hand hard as she gave another push, panting afterward.

“Almost there,” Dr. Rucker noted. “One, two, three. Push.”

Sara pushed again, groaning out as she did. She looked to Tegan as she gave out again. Tegan gave her a warm smile, her eyes scrunching in that way that Sara found to be oh so cute and charming. She remembered falling in love that smile from a young age. Sara couldn’t help but break out into her own smile.

“You’re looking at me, again,” Tegan giggled, mimicking the thing that Sara herself often said to Tegan. Sara returned the giggle and nodded her head.

“Yeah I am,” she replied.

“Okay, Mrs. Quin. This is it. We need you to push one last time,” Dr. Rucker said. “Can you give me one more?”

“I… I can try,” Sara answered, turning toward the doctor. She tried to push, but couldn’t, her body exhausted from all of the pushing she had already done. Her head fell back on the pillow as she panted hard. She shook her head. “I can’t… I… I can’t.”

“Mrs. Quin, I know it’s been long, but just one more push and you’re all done,” the doctor said.

“I…” Sara shook her head. “I’m done. I’m just… I’m too exhausted.”

“Mrs. Quin, you need to know that if you can’t give this last push, then we’ll have to do an emergency Caesarean section.”

Sara gasped. “N-No… No… I… Just…” she looked to the side for Tegan.

“You can do this, baby.” Tegan leaned in and kissed the knuckles of Sara’s hand, letting her lips linger soothingly. “She needs you, mama.”

Sara nodded and mustered all her strength. _Please, baby. Please_. She pushed with the last little bit of her she had, keeping the mantra in her mind. _Please, baby. Please. Please, baby. Please. Please, baby. Please._

Then it was quiet. It was too quiet. Something was wrong. Sara’s head had fallen back on the pillow after all her pushing, but she shot up when she realized how quiet things were. _My baby! My baby! What’s wrong with my b–_

There was a loud wail as the newborn used her lungs for the first time. Sara broke, letting her own tears fall as she heard her daughter’s voice for the first time.

“Mrs. and Mrs. Quin?” the doctor began as he stood up. “Meet your baby girl.”

*

Sara smiled as everyone filed into her room. Her mom, her mam, her father, Ted, and Rob. She tried to wave as best she could from around the baby.  
“Oh, she’s so beautiful.” Sonia said, covering her mouth with her hand as she was hit with emotion.

“She gets that from her mammy,” Sara giggled softly.

“What’s her name?” Tammy asked as everyone sat down.

Sara bit her lip and looked down to the child in her arms. “Mom. Mam. Everyone… Meet Keirsten Rain Quin.”

“Perfect,” Tammy said, wiping her eyes. “Just perfect.”

Tegan nodded happily. “It was Sara’s idea.”

“It fits,” Stephen spoke up.

“Thank you, daddy,” Sara smiled before looking to Rob. “Robbie? You wanna come see your daughter?”

Rob sat dumbstruck for a second before Ted nudged him. “Go on,” Ted said. Rob got up from his seat and walked over to the bed, leaning over as he stared down at the baby in Sara’s arms.

“She’s so small,” he said.

“Yeah,” Sara laughed. “I would let you hold her, but I think she’s out.”

“That’s okay,” Rob replied, looking to Sara and then moving back. “I’ll get to soon enough, I suppose.”

The nurse came over and took the baby from Sara, putting her in a basinet nearby to sleep as the rest of the family chatted. Sara tried to stay awake, but nobody held it against her when the first light snores were heard coming from her.

*

“Here we are,” Tegan said as she pulled up to the house a few days later. Sara sat in the backseat with Keirsten for the trip. Tegan turned to the back and smiled down to the sleeping infant. “Welcome home, baby.”

The twins got out of the car and were greeted by Hayley and Courtney.

“What are you two doing here?” Tegan laughed as she hugged her cousins.

“We asked your mom and mam if we could housesit for you instead so we could meet the baby,” Hayley replied.

“Thanks, guys,” Sara said as she walked up with the baby.

“Oh, Court, look,” Hayley said, pointing to Keirsten.

“She’s a cutie,” Courtney replied, wrapping her arm around her wife. “Our little Emma might have a future girlfriend.”

Tegan laughed and ushered everyone inside. “We’ll see.”

*

Tegan jolted awake as the sound of the baby crying came over the monitor. She got up from her spot in the bed and rubbed her eyes as she slipped on a loose shirt over her naked frame before walking to the baby’s room.

She stepped inside and lifted her child from the crib, checking the usual things to make sure she was alright. “What’s the matter, baby?” Tegan asked groggily as she held Keirsten close to her.

“She’s hungry,” Sara replied from the doorway, surprising Tegan. She hadn’t heard Sara get up. Sara walked in and took the baby from her twin, sitting down in the rocking chair and beginning to feed her.

“How did you know?” Tegan asked with a tired smile.

“Mother’s intuition, I guess,” Sara replied, rocking the baby gently.

Tegan watched on as Sara fed their child and put her back to bed. They both walked back to their room and shared a lazy kiss as they snuggled in under the covers once more, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before they would have to do it again.

Rise with or before the sun. That was the motto of a farmer… and a new parent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give a big thank you to quincestiswincest, itsyellowbottlestuff, and quin-love-cest, again. Your support and help throughout these last few chapters has meant so much to me, and you all have written them as much as I have as far as I'm concerned. Thank you again to everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as I did with writing it. I'll see you guys next time, Quindom.


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